ProShare Advisors LLC Has $6.08 Million Stock Position in Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 10.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 106,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,241 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.42% of Lakeland Financial worth $6,078,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 186.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 1,212.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial during the 1st quarter worth $215,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $226,000. Finally, Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $244,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Lakeland Financial Trading Down 0.5%

NASDAQ:LKFN opened at $59.90 on Friday. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $54.36 and a 1 year high of $69.40. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of 14.03 and a beta of 0.74.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 25.81% and a return on equity of 14.79%. The business had revenue of $69.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.42 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 4.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, April 25th were paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 24th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on LKFN. Stephens set a $66.00 price target on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lakeland Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 19th. Finally, Hovde Group increased their price target on shares of Lakeland Financial from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lakeland Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director M Scott Welch bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $56.23 per share, for a total transaction of $562,300.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 212,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,921,097.38. This represents a 4.95% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Steven D. Ross sold 1,281 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.50, for a total transaction of $80,062.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 27,001 shares in the company, valued at $1,687,562.50. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,419,050 and have sold 9,121 shares valued at $544,369. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Lakeland Financial

Lakeland Financial Corporation is a bank holding company based in Warsaw, Indiana, that operates through its principal subsidiary, Lakeland Bank. The company offers a full range of commercial and consumer banking services, including deposit products such as checking accounts, savings accounts and certificates of deposit, as well as a variety of loan offerings spanning commercial real estate, agricultural, mortgage, consumer and small-business lending.

Originally organized in 1893 as Kosciusko County State Bank, the enterprise reorganized as a bank holding company in 1984 to facilitate strategic growth and diversification.