Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN Stock Holdings Lifted by 1ST Source Bank

1ST Source Bank lifted its position in Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 19.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 58,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,690 shares during the quarter. 1ST Source Bank’s holdings in Lakeland Financial were worth $3,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LKFN. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Lakeland Financial by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 60,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,614,000 after buying an additional 6,987 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 90.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 32,427 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,927,000 after purchasing an additional 15,404 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $884,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 327.9% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 199,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,848,000 after purchasing an additional 152,738 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $215,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Lakeland Financial Price Performance

Lakeland Financial stock opened at $60.56 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.52. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a one year low of $54.36 and a one year high of $69.40. The company has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a PE ratio of 14.18 and a beta of 0.73.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $69.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 last year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LKFN. Wall Street Zen cut Lakeland Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lakeland Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Hovde Group boosted their price objective 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.50.

Insider Activity at Lakeland Financial

In related news, EVP Eric H. Ottinger sold 2,136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.49, for a total transaction of $131,342.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 33,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,044,972.93. This trade represents a 6.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Bradley J. Toothaker sold 5,900 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 14,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $865,532.36. The trade was a 29.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 9,336 shares of company stock valued at $570,251 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

About Lakeland Financial

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.