Handelsbanken Fonder AB Grows Stake in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 19.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,030 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Lakeland Financial were worth $393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of LKFN. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Lakeland Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 342.5% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. First Merchants Corp purchased a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $215,000. Sippican Capital Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $223,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lakeland Financial by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 5,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LKFN opened at $64.37 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.78 and a beta of 0.65. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $46.26 and a 1 year high of $73.22. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.04.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $68.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.70 million. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 23.70%. The business’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. Lakeland Financial’s payout ratio is currently 53.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lakeland Financial news, SVP James Rickard Donovan sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $625,938.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP James Rickard Donovan sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.42, for a total value of $52,336.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,568 shares in the company, valued at $625,938.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Brok A. Lahrman sold 415 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.91, for a total value of $28,597.65. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $119,834.49. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,635 shares of company stock valued at $914,604. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

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.