Monarch Capital Management Inc. Sells 1,775 Shares of Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)

Monarch Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 1.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 158,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,775 shares during the quarter. Lakeland Financial makes up about 2.9% of Monarch Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Monarch Capital Management Inc. owned 0.62% of Lakeland Financial worth $9,772,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LKFN. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Lakeland Financial by 342.5% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 359.1% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Sippican Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $223,000. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $257,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Lakeland Financial Trading Up 6.4 %

Shares of Lakeland Financial stock traded up $4.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $66.78. The stock had a trading volume of 128,611 shares, compared to its average volume of 116,310. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $63.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.80. The firm has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.45 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $44.47 and a 12-month high of $73.22.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.02. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 23.70%. The company had revenue of $68.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.57 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 25th were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 25th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity at Lakeland Financial

In other Lakeland Financial news, SVP Kyra E. Clark sold 420 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.93, for a total value of $28,950.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $494,641.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Brok A. Lahrman sold 415 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.91, for a total transaction of $28,597.65. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $119,834.49. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kyra E. Clark sold 420 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.93, for a total value of $28,950.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $494,641.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.