Bank of New York Mellon Corp Buys 3,056 Shares of Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 210,433 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,056 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Lakeland Financial were worth $14,469,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LKFN. Albert D Mason Inc. increased its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 22,638 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,557,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,736,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. Sippican Capital Advisors lifted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 19,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,332,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Lakeland Financial by 62.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Lakeland Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lakeland Financial news, Director M Scott Welch purchased 5,000 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $61.40 per share, with a total value of $307,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 39,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,394,600. This represents a 14.71 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Donald Robinson-Gay sold 550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.25, for a total value of $36,437.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $329,527.50. The trade was a 9.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $74.00 price target (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

Lakeland Financial Stock Up 0.4 %

LKFN opened at $61.38 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.91 and a beta of 0.63. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $57.45 and a 52-week high of $78.61. The business has a fifty day moving average of $66.86 and a 200 day moving average of $67.96.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 anticipate that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, January 25th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. This is a positive change from Lakeland Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.10%.

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.