Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) Director Sells $357,658.00 in Stock

Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) Director Bradley Toothaker sold 5,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total transaction of $357,658.00. Following the sale, the director owned 14,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $865,532.36. This trade represents a 29.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Lakeland Financial Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of LKFN stock opened at $58.41 on Thursday. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $54.36 and a 12 month high of $69.40. The stock has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a PE ratio of 13.68 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $59.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.07.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 25.81% and a return on equity of 14.79%. The firm had revenue of $69.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.42 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, April 25th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 24th. Lakeland Financial’s payout ratio is 48.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on LKFN shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lakeland Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Hovde Group upped their price target on shares of Lakeland Financial from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lakeland Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lakeland Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LKFN. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Lakeland Financial by 186.0% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Lakeland Financial by 1,212.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake 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 worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in Lakeland Financial by 118.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Lakeland Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $86,000. Institutional investors own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

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.