Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lowered its position in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 34.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 538,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 288,314 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Lakeland Financial were worth $37,002,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC raised its position in Lakeland Financial by 130.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 50,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,320,000 after purchasing an additional 28,851 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 0.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 605,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,406,000 after buying an additional 5,562 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $201,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 57,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,773,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Lakeland Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $10,560,000. Institutional investors own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lakeland Financial

In other Lakeland Financial news, EVP Stephanie R. Leniski sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.94, for a total transaction of $92,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,211 shares in the company, valued at $384,709.34. This represents a 19.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Donald Robinson-Gay sold 550 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.25, for a total value of $36,437.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,974 shares in the company, valued at $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 Ratings Changes

LKFN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research note on Monday, January 27th. 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 on the stock.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LKFN opened at $53.02 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $60.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.61 and a beta of 0.64. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $50.74 and a 52-week high of $78.61.

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

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. Lakeland Financial’s payout ratio is 55.10%.

Lakeland Financial Company 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.