Quantbot Technologies LP Makes New $986,000 Investment in Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN

Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 15,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $986,000. Quantbot Technologies LP owned approximately 0.06% of Lakeland Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LKFN. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Lakeland Financial by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,887,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $107,719,000 after buying an additional 19,967 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 4.8% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 321,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,443,000 after acquiring an additional 14,584 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 106,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,078,000 after acquiring an additional 10,241 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial in the second quarter worth about $14,365,000. Finally, Heartland Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial during the second quarter worth about $1,435,000. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lakeland Financial news, Director Bradley J. Toothaker sold 5,900 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total value of $357,658.00. Following the sale, the director owned 14,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $865,532.36. The trade was a 29.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LKFN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Lakeland Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Lakeland Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.50.

Lakeland Financial Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of LKFN stock opened at $59.47 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.16. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $54.36 and a 52 week high of $69.40. The stock has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.64 and a beta of 0.72.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 14.67% and a net margin of 26.04%.The firm had revenue of $70.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.11 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.04 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 4.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, July 25th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 24th. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.71%.

Lakeland Financial Profile

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.