Squarepoint Ops LLC Purchases 17,507 Shares of Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN

Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 49.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,507 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned 0.21% of Lakeland Financial worth $3,256,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LKFN. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 403.6% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 383,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,568,000 after buying an additional 307,371 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 327.9% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 199,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,848,000 after acquiring an additional 152,738 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in Lakeland Financial in the first quarter worth $6,500,000. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 1,699.4% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 105,663 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,493,000 after acquiring an additional 99,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 679.5% in the first quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 113,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,726,000 after acquiring an additional 98,641 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Lakeland Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LKFN opened at $59.90 on Wednesday. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $50.00 and a 1 year high of $73.52. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $59.10 and a 200 day moving average of $62.11. The stock has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.80 and a beta of 0.73.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.01. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 23.23% and a return on equity of 13.77%. The business had revenue of $69.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, October 25th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 24th. Lakeland Financial’s payout ratio is 52.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on LKFN. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective (down from $74.00) on shares of Lakeland Financial in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Lakeland Financial from $68.00 to $66.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.67.

Lakeland Financial 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.