Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) Director Buys $562,300.00 in Stock

Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) Director M Scott Welch bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $56.23 per share, with a total value of $562,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 212,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,921,097.38. The trade was a 4.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

M Scott Welch also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, March 9th, M Scott Welch purchased 5,000 shares of Lakeland Financial stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $55.45 per share, with a total value of $277,250.00.
• On Friday, February 27th, M Scott Welch purchased 10,000 shares of Lakeland Financial stock. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $57.95 per share, for a total transaction of $579,500.00.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

LKFN opened at $56.70 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a PE ratio of 14.14 and a beta of 0.73. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a one year low of $50.00 and a one year high of $69.40. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $59.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.51.

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

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 5th. Investors of record on Sunday, January 25th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 23rd. This is a positive change from Lakeland Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 51.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on LKFN shares. Stephens set a $66.00 target price on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lakeland Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 8th. Finally, Hovde Group cut shares of 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 assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.00.

Institutional Trading of Lakeland Financial

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 10,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $660,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 20,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,184,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 7,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 6.4% during the third quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 4,201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 6.4% during the third quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 4,973 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.