Sapient Capital LLC Makes New $257,000 Investment in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)

Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,627,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $106,021,000 after purchasing an additional 174,613 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 2.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 463,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,985,000 after buying an additional 12,618 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 339,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,127,000 after buying an additional 16,823 shares during the period. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC lifted its position in Lakeland Financial by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC now owns 301,632 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,315,000 after acquiring an additional 9,840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Lakeland Financial by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 250,948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,910,000 after acquiring an additional 11,760 shares in the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lakeland Financial Price Performance

LKFN opened at $61.33 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.94 and a beta of 0.69. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $43.05 and a 1-year high of $73.22. The company has a 50-day moving average of $62.42 and a 200-day moving average of $61.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th were given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Lakeland Financial’s payout ratio is 53.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lakeland Financial news, CEO David M. Findlay sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.26, for a total transaction of $783,120.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $925,060.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Jonathan P. Steiner sold 3,328 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.73, for a total transaction of $212,093.44. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $193,675.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO David M. Findlay sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.26, for a total value of $783,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $925,060.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,068 shares of company stock worth $1,637,583 over the last ninety days. 3.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Lakeland Financial from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Lakeland Financial from $60.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th.

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.