Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC Boosts Stake in Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN

Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC boosted its holdings in Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 493,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,044 shares during the quarter. Lakeland Financial comprises approximately 2.6% of Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC owned about 1.93% of Lakeland Financial worth $31,681,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LKFN. Boston Trust Walden Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the third quarter valued at about $23,968,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 403.6% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 383,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,568,000 after buying an additional 307,371 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 327.9% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 199,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,848,000 after buying an additional 152,738 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $6,500,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 1,699.4% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 105,663 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,493,000 after acquiring an additional 99,791 shares in the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lakeland Financial

In other news, Director Bradley J. Toothaker sold 5,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.36, for a total transaction of $331,776.60. Following the sale, the director owned 20,178 shares in the company, valued at $1,177,588.08. This trade represents a 21.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lakeland Financial Trading Up 2.3%

Lakeland Financial stock opened at $59.34 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $59.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.05. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $50.00 and a 52 week high of $69.40. The stock has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a PE ratio of 14.80 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

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

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, January 25th were issued a $0.52 dividend. This is a boost from Lakeland Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 23rd. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Lakeland Financial’s payout ratio is presently 51.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LKFN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised 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 report on Thursday, January 22nd. Stephens set a $66.00 price target on Lakeland Financial in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Hovde Group cut shares of Lakeland Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.