3,500 Shares in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) Acquired by First Merchants Corp

First Merchants Corp bought a new stake in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 342.5% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Lakeland Financial by 359.1% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Lakeland Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. Sippican Capital Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial during the first quarter worth about $223,000. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $257,000. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LKFN stock traded up $4.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $66.78. The stock had a trading volume of 128,611 shares, compared to its average volume of 116,310. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $44.47 and a 1-year high of $73.22. The firm has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.45 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business’s fifty day moving average is $63.43 and its 200-day moving average is $62.79.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.02. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 23.70% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The company had revenue of $68.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.57 EPS. Lakeland Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 25th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 25th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lakeland Financial

In other news, SVP Kyra E. Clark sold 420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.93, for a total value of $28,950.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $494,641.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CAO Brok A. Lahrman sold 415 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.91, for a total value of $28,597.65. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kyra E. Clark sold 420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.93, for a total transaction of $28,950.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $494,641.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Lakeland Financial from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.00.

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.