Heartland Advisors Inc. Takes $1.44 Million Position in Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN

Heartland Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 23,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,435,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Lakeland Financial as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Lakeland Financial by 186.0% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the second quarter valued at $38,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 1,212.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new position in Lakeland Financial in the second quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 40.5% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lakeland Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:LKFN opened at $60.26 on Friday. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $54.36 and a 12 month high of $69.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a PE ratio of 13.82 and a beta of 0.72. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $61.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.22.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.05. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 14.67% and a net margin of 26.04%.The business had revenue of $70.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.11 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.04 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 4.38 EPS for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, July 25th were issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 24th. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 47.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LKFN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Lakeland Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Lakeland Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 9th. Finally, Hovde Group upped their target price on shares of Lakeland Financial from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lakeland Financial news, Director Bradley J. Toothaker sold 5,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total value of $357,658.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 14,278 shares in the company, valued at $865,532.36. This represents a 29.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Lakeland Financial

Lakeland Financial Corporation is a bank holding company based in Warsaw, Indiana, that operates through its principal subsidiary, Lakeland Bank. The company offers a full range of commercial and consumer banking services, including deposit products such as checking accounts, savings accounts and certificates of deposit, as well as a variety of loan offerings spanning commercial real estate, agricultural, mortgage, consumer and small-business lending.

Originally organized in 1893 as Kosciusko County State Bank, the enterprise reorganized as a bank holding company in 1984 to facilitate strategic growth and diversification.