NFJ Investment Group LLC Takes Position in Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN

NFJ Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 232,747 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $14,365,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LKFN. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Lakeland Financial by 186.0% during 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 during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in Lakeland Financial in the second quarter valued at $38,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lakeland Financial by 1,212.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised 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 buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the first quarter valued at about $86,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LKFN. Hovde Group increased their target price 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. Wall Street Zen cut Lakeland Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Lakeland Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.50.

Insider Transactions at Lakeland Financial

In related news, Director Bradley J. Toothaker sold 5,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total value of $357,658.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 14,278 shares in the company, valued at $865,532.36. This trade represents a 29.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LKFN opened at $60.44 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.86 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s fifty day moving average is $61.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.22. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $54.36 and a 1 year high of $69.40.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 26.04% and a return on equity of 14.67%. The company had revenue of $70.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.11 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.04 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 4.38 EPS for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, July 25th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 24th. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.71%.

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.