Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC Invests $30.70 Billion in Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN

Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC bought a new stake in Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 497,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $30,699,466,000. Lakeland Financial makes up about 2.1% of Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LKFN. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Lakeland Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $224,600,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 307,371 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in Lakeland Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $14,365,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Lakeland Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $12,857,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Lakeland Financial by 327.9% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 199,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,848,000 after buying an additional 152,738 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LKFN opened at $60.26 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.82 and a beta of 0.72. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a one year low of $54.36 and a one year high of $69.40. The company’s fifty day moving average is $61.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.21.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $70.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.11 million. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 26.04% and a return on equity of 14.67%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.04 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, July 25th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 24th. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Bradley J. Toothaker sold 5,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total value of $357,658.00. Following the sale, the director owned 14,278 shares in the company, valued at $865,532.36. This represents a 29.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

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.