Sapient Capital LLC Acquires Shares of 5,867 Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)

Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 5,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $382,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 78.9% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 47.6% in the third 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 during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 45.3% in the second 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 during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Point72 Middle East FZE acquired a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

LKFN opened at $58.48 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a PE ratio of 16.02 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $63.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.88. Lakeland Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $43.05 and a twelve month high of $73.22.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $65.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.81 million. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 23.85% and a return on equity of 14.89%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.01 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. Lakeland Financial’s payout ratio is 52.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lakeland Financial

In other Lakeland Financial news, Director Michael L. Kubacki sold 26,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.51, for a total value of $1,902,166.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,846,098. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Michael L. Kubacki sold 26,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.51, for a total value of $1,902,166.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 39,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,846,098. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David M. Findlay sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.26, for a total transaction of $783,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,175 shares in the company, valued at $925,060.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 53,728 shares of company stock worth $3,670,449 in the last ninety days. 3.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on LKFN shares. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Lakeland Financial from $60.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Lakeland Financial from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th.

About Lakeland Financial

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.