Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) Director M Scott Welch Purchases 10,000 Shares

Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) Director M Scott Welch acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $57.95 per share, with a total value of $579,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 49,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,839,550. This represents a 25.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Lakeland Financial Stock Down 3.9%

LKFN traded down $2.33 on Friday, hitting $57.71. 152,938 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 171,393. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $59.49 and its 200-day moving average is $61.04. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $50.00 and a 12 month high of $69.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of 14.40 and a beta of 0.75.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $69.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $69.45 million. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 14.19% and a net margin of 24.51%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, January 25th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This is an increase from Lakeland Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 23rd. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 51.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lakeland Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Stephens set a $66.00 target price on Lakeland Financial in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Hovde Group lowered Lakeland Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 248.0% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 186.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 118.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 80.9% in the third 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 period. 81.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lakeland Financial Company Profile

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.