JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has $7.14 Million Holdings in Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 66.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 111,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 44,395 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Lakeland Financial were worth $7,140,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp bought a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $23,968,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Lakeland Financial by 403.6% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 383,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,568,000 after acquiring an additional 307,371 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Lakeland Financial by 327.9% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 199,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,848,000 after acquiring an additional 152,738 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Lakeland Financial by 68.8% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 321,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,610,000 after acquiring an additional 130,897 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in Lakeland Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $6,500,000. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director M Scott Welch bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $56.23 per share, for a total transaction of $562,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 212,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,921,097.38. The trade was a 4.95% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Bradley J. Toothaker sold 5,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.36, for a total transaction of $331,776.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,177,588.08. This represents a 21.98% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders purchased a total of 25,000 shares of company stock worth $1,419,050 over the last quarter. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on LKFN shares. Stephens set a $66.00 price target on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lakeland Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 8th. Finally, Hovde Group lowered Lakeland Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.00.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

LKFN opened at $56.57 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.11 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $58.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.60. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a twelve month low of $50.00 and a twelve month high of $69.40.

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

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 5th. Investors of record on Sunday, January 25th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 23rd. This is a boost from Lakeland Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.87%.

Lakeland Financial Company 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.