Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) Shares Sold by Fourpath Capital Management LLC

Fourpath Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 32.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,765 shares during the period. Fourpath Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Lakeland Financial were worth $250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Albert D Mason Inc. raised its stake in Lakeland Financial by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 22,638 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,557,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 58.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 60.0% in the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Lakeland Financial by 3.2% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 12,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $793,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the period. Finally, Sippican Capital Advisors increased its stake in Lakeland Financial by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 19,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,332,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lakeland Financial Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of LKFN stock opened at $66.94 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.44 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.86. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $57.45 and a 52 week high of $78.61.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.05. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 13.31% and a net margin of 21.74%. Equities research analysts expect that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, January 25th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This is a boost from Lakeland Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Lakeland Financial

In other news, EVP Eric H. Ottinger sold 3,959 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.50, for a total value of $290,986.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,386,912.50. This represents a 10.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.