Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its holdings in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN – Free Report) by 27.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,739 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.06% of Lakeland Financial worth $991,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,847,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $120,395,000 after buying an additional 42,862 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,627,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $106,021,000 after buying an additional 174,613 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 781,429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,920,000 after buying an additional 10,595 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 339,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,127,000 after buying an additional 16,823 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 263,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,165,000 after buying an additional 12,486 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.15% of the company’s stock.
Lakeland Financial Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ:LKFN opened at $68.58 on Tuesday. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $44.47 and a 1-year high of $73.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a PE ratio of 18.94 and a beta of 0.67. The business’s 50 day moving average is $62.44 and its 200-day moving average is $63.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.
Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.02. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 23.70%. The company had revenue of $68.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. Lakeland Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current year.
Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 25th. Lakeland Financial’s payout ratio is presently 53.04%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Lakeland Financial from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.00.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on LKFN
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, SVP Kyra E. Clark sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.03, for a total transaction of $31,015.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $471,179.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 3.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
About Lakeland Financial
Lakeland Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Lake City Bank that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company accepts various deposit products, such as noninterest bearing, interest-bearing checking, savings, money market, NOW, and demand deposits.
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