Everence Capital Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)

Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 3,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 78.9% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 47.6% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 45.3% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Point72 Middle East FZE purchased a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial during the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Lakeland Financial Stock Up 4.3 %

Shares of LKFN opened at $61.65 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.89 and a beta of 0.67. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $43.05 and a 12-month high of $73.22. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $63.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.10. The firm 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 firm earned $1.01 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LKFN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stephens lifted their price target on Lakeland Financial from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Lakeland Financial from $60.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th.

Insider Activity at Lakeland Financial

In related news, SVP Donald Robinson-Gay sold 893 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.93, for a total value of $58,875.49. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $209,261.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Lakeland Financial news, SVP Donald Robinson-Gay sold 893 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.93, for a total transaction of $58,875.49. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,174 shares in the company, valued at $209,261.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael L. Kubacki sold 26,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.51, for a total transaction of $1,902,166.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 39,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,846,098. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 53,728 shares of company stock worth $3,670,449. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

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.