Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) Shares Sold by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 3.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,538,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 57,732 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 6.03% of Lakeland Financial worth $94,643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LKFN. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 19,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,249,000 after buying an additional 2,598 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Lakeland Financial by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 20,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,348,000 after acquiring an additional 4,468 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 263,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,165,000 after acquiring an additional 12,486 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $287,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 781,429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,920,000 after purchasing an additional 10,595 shares in the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LKFN opened at $64.80 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $64.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.95. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $44.47 and a 1-year high of $73.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.90 and a beta of 0.66.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $68.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.70 million. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 23.70%. Lakeland Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.57 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 25th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 25th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Lakeland Financial from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Kristin Pruitt sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $804,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 10,252 shares in the company, valued at $687,499.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP Kyra E. Clark sold 420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.93, for a total value of $28,950.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $494,641.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Kristin Pruitt sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $804,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 10,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $687,499.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,835 shares of company stock valued at $862,268 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Lakeland Financial Company Profile

Lakeland Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Lake City Bank that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company accepts various deposit products, such as noninterest bearing, interest-bearing checking, savings, money market, NOW, and demand deposits.