Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) Shares Sold by Inspire Investing LLC

Inspire Investing LLC lowered its stake in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 480 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Lakeland Financial were worth $402,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC grew its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 60.0% during the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Lakeland Financial in the third quarter worth $74,000. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 72.2% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $138,000 after acquiring an additional 890 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 33,337.5% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,000 after acquiring an additional 2,667 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Lakeland Financial Stock Up 2.8 %

NASDAQ:LKFN opened at $69.22 on Monday. Lakeland Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $57.45 and a fifty-two week high of $78.61. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.77. The stock has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a PE ratio of 17.98 and a beta of 0.69.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.05. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 22.85% and a return on equity of 13.64%. Equities analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, January 25th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. This is an increase from Lakeland Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Lakeland Financial’s payout ratio is presently 49.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lakeland Financial

In other Lakeland Financial news, EVP Eric H. Ottinger sold 3,959 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.50, for a total value of $290,986.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 32,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,386,912.50. This represents a 10.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,150 shares of company stock valued at $305,327. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

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.