Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) Director M Scott Welch Acquires 10,000 Shares

Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) Director M Scott Welch purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $57.95 per share, with a total value of $579,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 49,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,839,550. This represents a 25.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Lakeland Financial Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of LKFN opened at $58.09 on Friday. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $50.00 and a 1 year high of $69.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.49 and a beta of 0.75.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.02. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 24.51% and a return on equity of 14.19%. The firm had revenue of $69.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.45 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 5th. Investors of record on Sunday, January 25th were given a $0.52 dividend. This is a boost from Lakeland Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 23rd. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 51.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens set a $66.00 target price on shares of Lakeland Financial in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Hovde Group downgraded shares of Lakeland Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Lakeland Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.00.

Institutional Trading of Lakeland Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,523,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in Lakeland Financial by 14.3% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 99,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,390,000 after buying an additional 12,436 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp purchased a new stake in Lakeland Financial during the third quarter worth $23,968,000. TrueMark Investments LLC boosted its position in Lakeland Financial by 504.6% during the 3rd quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC now owns 93,375 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,995,000 after acquiring an additional 77,930 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 49.3% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 52,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,256,000 after acquiring an additional 17,507 shares during the period. 81.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.