Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) Holdings Raised by Envestnet Asset Management Inc.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 5.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 233,836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,846 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.92% of Lakeland Financial worth $14,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LKFN. Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Lakeland Financial by 100.9% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 145,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,477,000 after buying an additional 73,045 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Lakeland Financial by 132.5% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 98,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,042,000 after buying an additional 55,975 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in Lakeland Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,015,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $120,395,000 after buying an additional 42,862 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 24.8% during the 2nd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 65,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,013,000 after purchasing an additional 12,975 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Lakeland Financial Trading Down 2.5 %

Lakeland Financial stock opened at $65.48 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.09 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.08. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $45.59 and a 1-year high of $73.22.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $68.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 25th were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 25th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP James Rickard Donovan sold 800 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.42, for a total value of $52,336.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $625,938.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, President Kristin Pruitt sold 12,000 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $804,720.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 10,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $687,499.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP James Rickard Donovan sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.42, for a total transaction of $52,336.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Insiders have sold 13,635 shares of company stock worth $914,604 in the last quarter. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.