KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $378,000 in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 5,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $378,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $50,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Lakeland Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Lakeland Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $74,000. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 62.3% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Lakeland Financial Stock Down 3.4 %

NASDAQ:LKFN opened at $53.79 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a PE ratio of 14.82 and a beta of 0.63. The business’s 50 day moving average is $64.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.22. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $51.91 and a 52 week high of $78.61.

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

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, January 25th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Lakeland Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Lakeland Financial’s payout ratio is presently 55.10%.

Insider Transactions at Lakeland Financial

In other news, Director M Scott Welch purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $61.40 per share, for a total transaction of $307,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 39,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,394,600. This trade represents a 14.71 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Donald Robinson-Gay sold 550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.25, for a total value of $36,437.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $329,527.50. This represents a 9.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Hovde Group began coverage on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research note on Friday, March 21st. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $66.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

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.