M Scott Welch Buys 5,000 Shares of Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) Stock

Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) Director M Scott Welch bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $55.45 per share, for a total transaction of $277,250.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 54,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,994,300. The trade was a 10.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

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

• On Friday, February 27th, M Scott Welch bought 10,000 shares of Lakeland Financial stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $57.95 per share, with a total value of $579,500.00.

Lakeland Financial Price Performance

Shares of LKFN stock traded up $0.61 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $57.11. 47,913 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 171,522. 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 $1.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.24 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $59.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.76.

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

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 5th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, January 25th were given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. 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 payout ratio is 51.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on LKFN shares. Stephens set a $66.00 price target on Lakeland Financial in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lakeland Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Hovde Group downgraded shares of Lakeland Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LKFN. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Lakeland Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $795,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new position in Lakeland Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,416,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Lakeland Financial by 148.1% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 82,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,686,000 after buying an additional 49,020 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc purchased a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $991,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 8,212 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $469,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133 shares during the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.