Uncommon Cents Investing LLC Has $1.05 Million Holdings in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)

Uncommon Cents Investing LLC lessened its position in shares of Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 994 shares during the period. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC’s holdings in Lakeland Financial were worth $1,047,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 78.9% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 47.6% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 45.3% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Point72 Middle East FZE bought a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Stephanie R. Leniski sold 2,560 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.17, for a total value of $161,715.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $269,735.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Jonathan P. Steiner sold 3,328 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.73, for a total transaction of $212,093.44. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $193,675.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stephanie R. Leniski sold 2,560 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.17, for a total value of $161,715.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $269,735.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 53,728 shares of company stock valued at $3,670,449. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ LKFN opened at $66.32 on Friday. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $43.05 and a 1 year high of $73.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.17 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $65.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.62.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.10. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 23.85%. The firm had revenue of $65.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.81 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.01 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 25th were given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 24th. This is a boost from Lakeland Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Lakeland Financial’s payout ratio is currently 52.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TheStreet upgraded Lakeland Financial from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Monday, December 4th. Raymond James increased their target price on Lakeland Financial from $60.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price target on Lakeland Financial from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th.

Lakeland Financial Company Profile

Lakeland Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Lake City Bank that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company accepts various deposit products, such as noninterest bearing, interest-bearing checking, savings, money market, NOW, and demand deposits.