Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) Director Buys $277,250.00 in Stock

Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) Director M Scott Welch acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $55.45 per share, with a total value of $277,250.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 54,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,994,300. This represents a 10.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

M Scott Welch also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, March 12th, M Scott Welch purchased 10,000 shares of Lakeland Financial stock. The stock was bought at an average price of $56.23 per share, with a total value of $562,300.00.
• On Friday, February 27th, M Scott Welch purchased 10,000 shares of Lakeland Financial stock. The stock was bought at an average price of $57.95 per share, with a total value of $579,500.00.

Lakeland Financial Stock Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:LKFN opened at $56.58 on Friday. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a twelve month low of $50.00 and a twelve month high of $69.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.11 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $59.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.63.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $69.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $69.45 million. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 24.51% and a return on equity of 14.19%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial Corporation 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 Thursday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, January 25th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This is an increase from Lakeland Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 23rd. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 51.87%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LKFN. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 248.0% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 186.0% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 1,212.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in Lakeland Financial by 118.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Lakeland Financial by 80.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 747 shares during the period. 81.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LKFN shares. Stephens set a $66.00 target price on shares of Lakeland Financial in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Hovde Group cut Lakeland Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Lakeland Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.00.

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.