Choreo LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)

Choreo LLC grew its stake in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 17.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,887 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,087 shares during the period. Choreo LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Lakeland Financial worth $841,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of LKFN. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in Lakeland Financial by 1.6% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 12,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $787,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Bridge City Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC now owns 31,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,083,000 after buying an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 16,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,100,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 4.0% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 7,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 1.3% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 22,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,476,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Brok A. Lahrman sold 415 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.91, for a total transaction of $28,597.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $119,834.49. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related 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 transaction, the president now directly owns 10,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $687,499.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Brok A. Lahrman sold 415 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.91, for a total transaction of $28,597.65. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,739 shares in the company, valued at $119,834.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,835 shares of company stock valued at $862,268 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.00.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LKFN stock opened at $65.48 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a PE ratio of 18.09 and a beta of 0.66. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $44.47 and a 1 year high of $73.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $65.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.98.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.02. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 23.70% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The business had revenue of $68.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.70 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.57 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.04%.

Lakeland Financial 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.