ProShare Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN

ProShare Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 8.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 96,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,390 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lakeland Financial were worth $6,181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 248.0% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 186.0% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 1,212.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 80.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Lakeland Financial during the first quarter valued at about $215,000. Institutional investors own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Lakeland Financial Stock Up 0.3%

LKFN stock opened at $60.89 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a PE ratio of 15.18 and a beta of 0.75. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $50.00 and a 52 week high of $69.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $59.32 and a 200 day moving average of $61.24.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.11. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 24.51% and a return on equity of 14.19%. The business had revenue of $69.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $69.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 5th. Investors of record on Sunday, January 25th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This is a positive change from Lakeland Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 23rd. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lakeland Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Lakeland Financial from $68.00 to $66.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $68.00 price target (down from $74.00) on shares of Lakeland Financial in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Hovde Group downgraded Lakeland Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lakeland Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.00.

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.