Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC Has $27.52 Million Stake in Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN

Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC trimmed its stake in Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 482,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,225 shares during the period. Lakeland Financial accounts for about 2.3% of Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Lakeland Financial were worth $27,517,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State of Wyoming grew its position in Lakeland Financial by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Lakeland Financial by 39.4% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 251,470 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,349,000 after purchasing an additional 71,058 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in Lakeland Financial by 181.7% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 32,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,857,000 after purchasing an additional 20,992 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in Lakeland Financial by 118.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in Lakeland Financial by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 106,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,078,000 after purchasing an additional 10,241 shares during the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lakeland Financial Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of LKFN stock opened at $59.29 on Friday. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $54.36 and a 12-month high of $69.40. The company has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.89 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $59.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.08.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 25.81% and a return on equity of 14.79%. The firm had revenue of $69.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.42 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, April 25th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 24th. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on LKFN. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lakeland Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Hovde Group raised their price objective on shares of Lakeland Financial from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lakeland Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Eric H. Ottinger sold 2,136 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.49, for a total transaction of $131,342.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 33,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,044,972.93. This trade represents a 6.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director M Scott Welch acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $56.23 per share, with a total value of $562,300.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 212,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,921,097.38. This represents a 4.95% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,336 shares of company stock valued at $570,251. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

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.