Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) SVP Kyra Clark Sells 250 Shares

Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) SVP Kyra Clark sold 250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.22, for a total value of $15,805.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 11,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $720,455.12. This represents a 2.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Lakeland Financial Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Lakeland Financial stock opened at $62.65 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $61.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.95. The company has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a PE ratio of 14.37 and a beta of 0.73. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $54.36 and a 52 week high of $69.40.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last released its earnings results 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. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 14.67% and a net margin of 26.04%.The business had revenue of $70.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.11 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.04 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 4.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, July 25th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 24th. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on LKFN. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lakeland Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lakeland Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Hovde Group boosted their price target on Lakeland Financial from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lakeland Financial

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of LKFN. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 13.0% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 60,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,614,000 after purchasing an additional 6,987 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Lakeland Financial by 90.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 32,427 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,927,000 after buying an additional 15,404 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Lakeland Financial by 5.1% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $884,000 after buying an additional 716 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $11,848,000 after buying an additional 152,738 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in Lakeland Financial during the first quarter worth $215,000. Institutional investors own 81.15% 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.