Insider Buying: Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) Director Buys 5,000 Shares of Stock

Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) Director M Scott Welch acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $61.40 per share, with a total value of $307,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 39,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,394,600. This trade represents a 14.71 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Lakeland Financial Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ LKFN traded up $1.02 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $62.13. 57,378 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 130,638. The stock has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.07 and a beta of 0.63. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $57.45 and a 1 year high of $78.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.01.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.05. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 21.74% and a return on equity of 13.31%. As a group, analysts forecast that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, January 25th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Lakeland Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.10%.

Institutional Trading of Lakeland Financial

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Lakeland Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $23,111,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,560,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Lakeland Financial by 54.0% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 307,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,126,000 after purchasing an additional 107,765 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,940,356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $133,419,000 after purchasing an additional 100,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 132.2% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 134,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,248,000 after buying an additional 76,562 shares in the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $74.00 price target (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

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.