Heartland Advisors Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)

Heartland Advisors Inc. reduced its position in shares of Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 467 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Lakeland Financial were worth $1,535,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Lakeland Financial during the fourth quarter worth $23,111,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Lakeland Financial during the fourth quarter worth $10,560,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,940,356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $133,419,000 after acquiring an additional 100,001 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 132.2% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 134,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,248,000 after purchasing an additional 76,562 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 946,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $65,066,000 after acquiring an additional 43,312 shares in the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lakeland Financial Stock Down 0.7 %

LKFN opened at $60.26 on Friday. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $57.45 and a 52 week high of $78.61. The firm has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.60 and a beta of 0.63. The business’s 50 day moving average is $65.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.48.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.05. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 13.31% and a net margin of 21.74%. Equities analysts expect that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, January 25th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This is a boost from Lakeland Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.10%.

Insider Transactions at Lakeland Financial

In other Lakeland Financial news, SVP Donald Robinson-Gay sold 550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.25, for a total transaction of $36,437.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $329,527.50. The trade was a 9.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephanie R. Leniski sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.94, for a total value of $92,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $384,709.34. This represents a 19.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on LKFN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Lakeland Financial in a report on Monday, January 27th. Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research note on Friday, March 21st. They set a “market perform” rating and a $66.00 price target on the stock.

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.