Copeland Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN

Copeland Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 606,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,316 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Lakeland Financial were worth $34,793,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Lakeland Financial by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,887,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $107,719,000 after purchasing an additional 19,967 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Lakeland Financial by 4.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,354,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,237,000 after purchasing an additional 57,252 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Lakeland Financial by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,049,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,867,000 after purchasing an additional 15,610 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Lakeland Financial by 403.6% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 383,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,568,000 after purchasing an additional 307,371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 68.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 321,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,610,000 after buying an additional 130,897 shares in the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lakeland Financial Stock Down 1.5%

LKFN stock opened at $62.68 on Friday. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a twelve month low of $54.36 and a twelve month high of $69.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.59.

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

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, July 25th will be given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 24th. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 48.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lakeland Financial news, Director Steven D. Ross sold 1,281 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.50, for a total value of $80,062.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 27,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,687,562.50. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Bradley J. Toothaker sold 5,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total value of $357,658.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 14,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $865,532.36. This trade represents a 29.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 9,336 shares of company stock valued at $570,251 in the last ninety days. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LKFN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lakeland Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lakeland Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Hovde Group lifted their price target on Lakeland Financial from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.50.

Lakeland Financial Company Profile

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.