Quantbot Technologies LP Makes New $986,000 Investment in Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 15,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $986,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 60,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,614,000 after acquiring an additional 6,987 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Lakeland Financial by 90.5% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 32,427 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,927,000 after acquiring an additional 15,404 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Lakeland Financial by 5.1% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $884,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Lakeland Financial by 327.9% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 199,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,848,000 after purchasing an additional 152,738 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $215,000. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on LKFN shares. Weiss Ratings cut Lakeland Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Lakeland Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.50.

Insider Activity at Lakeland Financial

In related news, Director Bradley J. Toothaker sold 5,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total value of $357,658.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 14,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $865,532.36. This trade represents a 29.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Lakeland Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LKFN opened at $59.47 on Thursday. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $54.36 and a 1 year high of $69.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a PE ratio of 13.64 and a beta of 0.72.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 14.67% and a net margin of 26.04%.The firm had revenue of $70.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.11 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.04 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 4.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

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

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.