Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 12.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,628 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,085 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Lakeland Financial were worth $664,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $50,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the third quarter valued at about $74,000. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 62.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 72.2% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 890 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

LKFN opened at $66.42 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.30 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $67.82 and a 200 day moving average of $68.07. Lakeland Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $57.45 and a fifty-two week high of $78.61.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.05. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 21.74% and a return on equity of 13.31%. Equities research analysts predict that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, January 25th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. This is a positive change from Lakeland Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lakeland Financial news, SVP Donald Robinson-Gay sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.25, for a total transaction of $36,437.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,974 shares in the company, valued at $329,527.50. This trade represents a 9.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

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.