Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Sells 288,314 Shares of Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 34.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 538,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 288,314 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC owned 2.11% of Lakeland Financial worth $37,002,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 15,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,041,000 after acquiring an additional 827 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Lakeland Financial by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 807,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,526,000 after purchasing an additional 6,307 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 54.0% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 307,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,126,000 after purchasing an additional 107,765 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its position in Lakeland Financial by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 51,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,573,000 after buying an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in Lakeland Financial by 809.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LKFN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $74.00 price objective (up from $73.00) on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research report on Friday, March 21st. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $66.00 price target for the company.

Lakeland Financial Stock Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ:LKFN opened at $53.02 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of 14.61 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.21. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $50.74 and a 52 week high of $78.61.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 55.10%.

Insider Activity at Lakeland Financial

In related news, SVP Donald Robinson-Gay sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was 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 directly owns 4,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $329,527.50. This represents a 9.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director M Scott Welch purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $61.40 per share, with a total value of $307,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 39,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,394,600. This represents a 14.71 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.