Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) Director Melinda Jo Truex Acquires 8,309 Shares

Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) Director Melinda Jo Truex bought 8,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $60.11 per share, with a total value of $499,453.99. Following the purchase, the director now owns 16,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $992,235.77. This represents a 101.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Lakeland Financial stock traded up $1.67 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $60.31. The company had a trading volume of 51,065 shares, compared to its average volume of 138,441. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $50.00 and a 52-week high of $78.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.61 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50 day moving average of $57.27 and a 200 day moving average of $64.82.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.09). Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 21.74% and a return on equity of 13.31%. The firm had revenue of $90.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.54 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 25th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.14%.

Institutional Trading of Lakeland Financial

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 40.5% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 631 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. State of Wyoming grew its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 4,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Lakeland Financial by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,736,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 12,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $768,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in Lakeland Financial by 16.4% during the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LKFN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Hovde Group upgraded shares of Lakeland Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $72.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Lakeland Financial from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th.

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.