UBS Group AG Reduces Position in Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN

UBS Group AG lessened its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 52.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,085 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 41,719 shares during the period. UBS Group AG’s holdings in Lakeland Financial were worth $2,173,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of LKFN. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Lakeland Financial by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 60,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,614,000 after acquiring an additional 6,987 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Lakeland Financial by 90.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 32,427 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,927,000 after acquiring an additional 15,404 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Lakeland Financial by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $884,000 after acquiring an additional 716 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Lakeland Financial by 327.9% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 199,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,848,000 after acquiring an additional 152,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in Lakeland Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $215,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Lakeland Financial Price Performance

Lakeland Financial stock opened at $60.22 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.02. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $54.36 and a 1-year high of $69.40. The stock has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.10 and a beta of 0.74.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 25.81% and a return on equity of 14.79%. The business had revenue of $69.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.42 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, April 25th were paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 24th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 48.71%.

Insider Transactions at Lakeland Financial

In other news, EVP Eric H. Ottinger sold 2,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.49, for a total value of $131,342.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 33,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,044,972.93. This represents a 6.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven D. Ross sold 1,281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.50, for a total transaction of $80,062.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 27,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,687,562.50. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 25,000 shares of company stock worth $1,419,050 and have sold 3,436 shares worth $212,593. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LKFN. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lakeland Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 19th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Hovde Group increased their price target on shares of Lakeland Financial from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.50.

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.