Yousif Capital Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)

Yousif Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 240 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Lakeland Financial were worth $663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Lakeland Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. nVerses Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 60.0% in the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $74,000. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 62.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its position in Lakeland Financial by 72.2% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $138,000 after buying an additional 890 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

Lakeland Financial stock opened at $67.38 on Friday. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $57.45 and a 52 week high of $78.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.56 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $68.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.78.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, January 25th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Lakeland Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Lakeland Financial’s payout ratio is presently 55.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Lakeland Financial

In other news, EVP Eric H. Ottinger sold 3,959 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.50, for a total value of $290,986.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 32,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,386,912.50. The trade was a 10.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

About Lakeland Financial

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.