Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN Shares Acquired by Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC

Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC boosted its stake in Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 6.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 493,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,044 shares during the quarter. Lakeland Financial comprises 2.6% of Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Lakeland Financial were worth $31,681,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp purchased a new position in Lakeland Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $23,968,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 403.6% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 383,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,568,000 after buying an additional 307,371 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 327.9% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 199,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,848,000 after buying an additional 152,738 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in Lakeland Financial in the first quarter valued at $6,500,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in Lakeland Financial by 1,699.4% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 105,663 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,493,000 after acquiring an additional 99,791 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Bradley J. Toothaker sold 5,685 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.36, for a total transaction of $331,776.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,177,588.08. This represents a 21.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LKFN stock opened at $59.34 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $59.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.80 and a beta of 0.75. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $50.00 and a 12 month high of $69.40.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.02. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 14.19% and a net margin of 24.51%.The company had revenue of $69.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.45 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, January 25th were given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 23rd. This is a positive change from Lakeland Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lakeland Financial in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Stephens set a $66.00 price target on shares of Lakeland Financial in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Hovde Group downgraded shares of Lakeland Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lakeland Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.00.

Lakeland Financial Company Profile

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.