Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC Takes $30.70 Billion Position in Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN

Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 497,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $30,699,466,000. Lakeland Financial accounts for about 2.1% of Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC owned approximately 2.00% of Lakeland Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $224,600,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake 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 worth $23,568,000 after buying an additional 307,371 shares in the last quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in Lakeland Financial in the second quarter worth about $14,365,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Lakeland Financial in the second quarter worth about $12,857,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Lakeland Financial by 327.9% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 199,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,848,000 after acquiring an additional 152,738 shares in the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Lakeland Financial stock opened at $60.26 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.82 and a beta of 0.72. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $54.36 and a 12 month high of $69.40. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $61.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.21.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $72.11 million. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 14.67% and a net margin of 26.04%.During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.04 EPS. Analysts forecast that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, July 25th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 24th. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LKFN. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lakeland Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 9th. Hovde Group upped 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, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Lakeland Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lakeland Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lakeland Financial news, Director Bradley J. Toothaker sold 5,900 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total transaction of $357,658.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 14,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $865,532.36. The trade was a 29.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

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.