Man Group plc Acquires New Holdings in Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN

Man Group plc acquired a new stake in Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 57,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,579,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 40.5% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 20,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,184,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 24,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,422,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 17.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Lakeland Financial by 3.0% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 9,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $611,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lakeland Financial Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of LKFN opened at $59.09 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $61.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.55 and a beta of 0.72. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $54.36 and a 12-month high of $69.40.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $70.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.11 million. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 14.67% and a net margin of 26.04%.During the same period last year, the business earned $1.04 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 4.38 EPS for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LKFN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lakeland Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Lakeland Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lakeland Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.50.

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.