Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) Shares Purchased by Bridge City Capital LLC

Bridge City Capital LLC increased its holdings in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC owned 0.15% of Lakeland Financial worth $2,547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,276,929 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,154,000 after buying an additional 27,556 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Lakeland Financial by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 946,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $65,066,000 after acquiring an additional 43,312 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 764,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,545,000 after purchasing an additional 18,247 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 0.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 605,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,406,000 after purchasing an additional 5,562 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $23,111,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Donald Robinson-Gay sold 550 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.25, for a total transaction of $36,437.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $329,527.50. The trade was a 9.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Stephanie R. Leniski sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.94, for a total value of $92,910.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $384,709.34. This trade represents a 19.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LKFN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research note on Friday. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $66.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $74.00 price target (up from $73.00) on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

Lakeland Financial Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ:LKFN opened at $60.19 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.58 and a beta of 0.63. Lakeland Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $57.45 and a twelve month high of $78.61. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $65.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.66.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.05. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 21.74% and a return on equity of 13.31%. On average, analysts expect that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, January 25th were issued a $0.50 dividend. 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 3.32%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.10%.

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.