Avior Wealth Management LLC Sells 2,497 Shares of Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)

Avior Wealth Management LLC lessened its position in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 39.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,497 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Lakeland Financial were worth $268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LKFN. Albert D Mason Inc. grew its holdings in 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 lifted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 58.0% in the third 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 boosted its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 60.0% during the 3rd 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. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 3.2% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in Lakeland Financial by 11.3% in the 3rd 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 period. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lakeland Financial Stock Up 0.5 %

Lakeland Financial stock opened at $69.54 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $70.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.77. The stock has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.06 and a beta of 0.69. Lakeland Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $57.45 and a twelve month high of $78.61.

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

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, January 25th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This is a boost from Lakeland Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Lakeland Financial’s payout ratio is presently 55.10%.

Insider Activity at Lakeland Financial

In other Lakeland Financial news, EVP Eric H. Ottinger sold 3,959 shares of Lakeland Financial 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 32,475 shares in the company, valued at $2,386,912.50. The trade was a 10.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,150 shares of company stock worth $305,327. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.