Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) Director Steven Ross Sells 1,281 Shares

Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) Director Steven Ross sold 1,281 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.50, for a total value of $80,062.50. Following the sale, the director owned 27,001 shares in the company, valued at $1,687,562.50. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Lakeland Financial Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of LKFN stock opened at $62.32 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.59 and a beta of 0.74. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a twelve month low of $54.36 and a twelve month high of $69.40. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.95.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $69.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.42 million. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 14.79% and a net margin of 25.81%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 4.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, April 25th were given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 24th. Lakeland Financial’s payout ratio is 48.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LKFN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Hovde Group upped their price target on Lakeland Financial from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lakeland Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Stephens set a $66.00 price target on Lakeland Financial in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lakeland Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 1.9% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 10,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $660,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 40.5% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 1.1% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 3.4% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 7,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $483,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 6.4% in the third quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 4,201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.