KBC Group NV Has $115,000 Stock Holdings in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)

KBC Group NV increased its position in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 62.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 642 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Lakeland Financial were worth $115,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Albert D Mason Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 22,638 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,557,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 58.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 60.0% in the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 3.2% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 12,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $793,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 11.3% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 642 shares during the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Lakeland Financial

In other Lakeland Financial news, EVP Eric H. Ottinger sold 3,959 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 32,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,386,912.50. This represents a 10.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Lakeland Financial Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Lakeland Financial stock opened at $68.18 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $69.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.87. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $57.45 and a 1-year high of $78.61. The company has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.78 and a beta of 0.68.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last released its 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 return on equity of 13.31% and a net margin of 21.74%. Equities research analysts forecast that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.65 EPS 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. This is a positive change from Lakeland Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.10%.

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.