Copeland Capital Management LLC Has $48.58 Million Holdings in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)

Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 0.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 745,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,323 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Lakeland Financial were worth $48,576,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Lakeland Financial by 132.5% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 98,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,042,000 after purchasing an additional 55,975 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 686.8% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 57,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,510,000 after acquiring an additional 49,800 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,847,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $120,395,000 after acquiring an additional 42,862 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in Lakeland Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,352,000. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 24.8% during the second quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 65,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,013,000 after purchasing an additional 12,975 shares in the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lakeland Financial Trading Down 3.1 %

Lakeland Financial stock opened at $65.13 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $65.07 and a 200-day moving average of $63.13. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $46.26 and a 1 year high of $73.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.99 and a beta of 0.65.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $68.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.70 million. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 23.70% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Lakeland Financial from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP James Rickard Donovan sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.42, for a total transaction of $52,336.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,568 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $625,938.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Lakeland Financial news, President Kristin Pruitt sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $804,720.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 10,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $687,499.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP James Rickard Donovan sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.42, for a total value of $52,336.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,568 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $625,938.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 13,635 shares of company stock valued at $914,604. 3.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.