Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) Director Sells $80,062.50 in Stock

Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) Director Steven Ross sold 1,281 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.50, for a total transaction of $80,062.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 27,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,687,562.50. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Lakeland Financial Price Performance

Shares of LKFN stock opened at $61.55 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.41 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $58.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.97. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a one year low of $54.36 and a one year high of $69.40.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $69.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.42 million. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 25.81% and a return on equity of 14.79%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 4.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, April 25th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 24th. Lakeland Financial’s payout ratio is 48.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LKFN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lakeland Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 19th. Stephens set a $66.00 price target on Lakeland Financial in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Hovde Group lifted their price objective on shares of Lakeland Financial from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.50.

Institutional Trading of Lakeland Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 186.0% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lakeland Financial by 1,212.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 40.5% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 118.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $86,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

About Lakeland Financial

Lakeland Financial Corporation is a bank holding company based in Warsaw, Indiana, that operates through its principal subsidiary, Lakeland Bank. The company offers a full range of commercial and consumer banking services, including deposit products such as checking accounts, savings accounts and certificates of deposit, as well as a variety of loan offerings spanning commercial real estate, agricultural, mortgage, consumer and small-business lending.

Originally organized in 1893 as Kosciusko County State Bank, the enterprise reorganized as a bank holding company in 1984 to facilitate strategic growth and diversification.