Insider Selling: Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) SVP Sells $15,805.00 in Stock

Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) SVP Kyra Clark sold 250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.22, for a total transaction of $15,805.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 11,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $720,455.12. This trade represents a 2.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Lakeland Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LKFN opened at $62.65 on Monday. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $54.36 and a fifty-two week high of $69.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.37 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.97.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $70.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.11 million. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 26.04% and a return on equity of 14.67%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.04 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 4.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, July 25th will be given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 24th. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on LKFN shares. Hovde Group upped their price objective on Lakeland Financial from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lakeland Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Lakeland Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lakeland Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lakeland Financial

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LKFN. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $206,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 17.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Lakeland Financial by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 321,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,443,000 after buying an additional 14,584 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Lakeland Financial by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 48,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,796,000 after buying an additional 817 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 26.1% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 7,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $412,000 after acquiring an additional 1,486 shares in the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.