12,248 Shares in Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN Purchased by Jupiter Topco LLC

Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 12,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $756,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Lakeland Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $529,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $247,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $3,531,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $651,000. Finally, Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial during the second quarter worth $30,699,466. 81.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LKFN stock opened at $60.57 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.89 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.06. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $54.36 and a 12-month high of $68.55.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.05. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 14.67% and a net margin of 26.04%.The business had revenue of $70.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.11 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.04 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, July 25th were issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 24th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LKFN. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lakeland Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Lakeland Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” 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.