Hsbc Holdings PLC Acquires New Shares in Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN

Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 11,505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $654,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LKFN. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Lakeland Financial by 403.6% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 383,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,568,000 after acquiring an additional 307,371 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 327.9% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 199,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,848,000 after purchasing an additional 152,738 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 68.8% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 321,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,610,000 after purchasing an additional 130,897 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $6,500,000. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,416,000. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lakeland Financial Price Performance

Shares of Lakeland Financial stock opened at $61.63 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.43 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $60.43 and its 200-day moving average is $59.53. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a one year low of $54.36 and a one year high of $69.40.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Lakeland Financial

In other Lakeland Financial news, EVP Eric H. Ottinger sold 2,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.49, for a total transaction of $131,342.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 33,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,044,972.93. This represents a 6.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Steven D. Ross sold 1,281 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director directly owned 27,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,687,562.50. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,336 shares of company stock worth $570,251. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LKFN. Wall Street Zen cut Lakeland Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday. Hovde Group lifted 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lakeland Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.50.

Lakeland Financial 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.