Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Buys 2,910 Shares of Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 18.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,910 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned about 0.07% of Lakeland Financial worth $1,269,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Lakeland Financial by 58.0% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. nVerses Capital LLC grew its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 60.0% during the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Lakeland Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $74,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in Lakeland Financial by 62.3% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Lakeland Financial Stock Up 1.9 %

LKFN stock opened at $69.34 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.10 and a beta of 0.68. Lakeland Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $57.45 and a twelve month high of $78.61. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.80.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.05. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 21.74% and a return on equity of 13.31%. Research analysts expect that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, January 25th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. This is a boost from Lakeland Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 55.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lakeland Financial news, EVP Eric H. Ottinger sold 3,959 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.50, for a total transaction of $290,986.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,475 shares in the company, valued at $2,386,912.50. This represents a 10.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $74.00 target price (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

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.