Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) Shares Acquired by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 732 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Lakeland Financial were worth $750,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LKFN. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Lakeland Financial by 26.1% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,452,481 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $68,935,000 after buying an additional 300,747 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Lakeland Financial by 33.6% during the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 736,585 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,958,000 after buying an additional 185,217 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Lakeland Financial by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 463,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,985,000 after buying an additional 12,618 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in Lakeland Financial by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 339,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,127,000 after buying an additional 16,823 shares during the period. Finally, Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC increased its stake in Lakeland Financial by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC now owns 301,632 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,315,000 after buying an additional 9,840 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on LKFN shares. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Lakeland Financial from $60.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Lakeland Financial from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th.

Insider Activity at Lakeland Financial

In related news, SVP Donald Robinson-Gay sold 893 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.93, for a total transaction of $58,875.49. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,261.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Lakeland Financial news, Director Michael L. Kubacki sold 26,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.51, for a total transaction of $1,902,166.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,846,098. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Donald Robinson-Gay sold 893 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.93, for a total transaction of $58,875.49. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $209,261.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 53,728 shares of company stock valued at $3,670,449 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Lakeland Financial Price Performance

LKFN opened at $62.64 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $43.05 and a 1-year high of $73.22. The company has a 50-day moving average of $63.08 and a 200-day moving average of $60.55. The company has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.16 and a beta of 0.67.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.10. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 23.85% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The business had revenue of $65.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.81 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.60%.

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.