Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN – Get Rating) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 156,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,373 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Lakeland Financial were worth $11,394,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 47.6% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 45.3% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 52.9% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 861 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $144,000. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $206,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LKFN. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Lakeland Financial from $74.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “sell” rating for the company.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director M Scott Welch bought 5,016 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $64.97 per share, for a total transaction of $325,889.52. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,016 shares in the company, valued at $325,889.52. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director M Scott Welch purchased 5,016 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $64.97 per share, with a total value of $325,889.52. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,016 shares in the company, valued at approximately $325,889.52. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Emily E. Pichon purchased 1,025 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $47.80 per share, with a total value of $48,995.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 16,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $776,176.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 32,756 shares of company stock worth $1,956,985. Insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Lakeland Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LKFN opened at $50.41 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Lakeland Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $43.05 and a fifty-two week high of $83.57. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.92. The company has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a PE ratio of 12.42 and a beta of 0.72.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.14). Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 33.46%. The firm had revenue of $89.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $66.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.72 EPS for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 25th were given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 24th. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.32%.

Lakeland Financial Profile

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Lakeland Financial Corp. is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of banking products and services. It offers commercial and consumer banking, trust and wealth management, brokerage, and treasury management commercial services. The company was founded on February 8, 1983 and is headquartered in Warsaw, IN.