The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Purchases New Holdings in Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 10,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $651,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in Lakeland Financial in the second quarter valued at $30,699,466. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $986,000. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,474,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,435,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in Lakeland Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. 81.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LKFN opened at $60.57 on Monday. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $54.36 and a 52 week high of $68.55. The firm has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.89 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.06.

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

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, July 25th were paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 24th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Lakeland Financial’s payout ratio is 47.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on LKFN shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded Lakeland Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Lakeland Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.50.

Lakeland Financial 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.