Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Has $52.04 Million Stock Holdings in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lowered its position in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 845,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 124,268 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Lakeland Financial were worth $52,041,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LKFN. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 5,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 686.8% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 57,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,510,000 after purchasing an additional 49,800 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 1.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 816,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,232,000 after purchasing an additional 11,118 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its position in Lakeland Financial by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 15,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 1,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 233,836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,386,000 after buying an additional 12,846 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lakeland Financial

In other news, SVP James Rickard Donovan sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.42, for a total value of $52,336.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,568 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $625,938.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, President Kristin Pruitt sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $804,720.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 10,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $687,499.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP James Rickard Donovan sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.42, for a total transaction of $52,336.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,568 shares in the company, valued at $625,938.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 13,635 shares of company stock worth $914,604. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Lakeland Financial Trading Down 3.5 %

LKFN stock opened at $67.25 on Friday. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $44.47 and a 1-year high of $73.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $66.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.11. The firm has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of 18.58 and a beta of 0.66.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $68.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.70 million. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 23.70% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 25th were given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 25th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. Lakeland Financial’s payout ratio is 53.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Lakeland Financial from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lakeland Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.00.

Lakeland Financial Company Profile

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.