Donald Robinson-Gay Sells 550 Shares of Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) Stock

Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) SVP Donald Robinson-Gay sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 $329,527.50. This represents a 9.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Lakeland Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:LKFN traded down $1.21 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $65.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 56,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 127,798. The company has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.94 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.95.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last posted 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 net margin of 21.74% and a return on equity of 13.31%. On average, equities analysts predict that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, January 25th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. This is a positive change from Lakeland Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.10%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lakeland Financial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Albert D Mason Inc. boosted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 22,638 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,557,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Lakeland Financial by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,736,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its position in Lakeland Financial by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 50,150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,448,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 16,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,142,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 4,954 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.