American Century Companies Inc. Purchases 586 Shares of Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 126,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 586 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Lakeland Financial were worth $8,725,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LKFN. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $320,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 40.3% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 15,229 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $992,000 after buying an additional 4,371 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Lakeland Financial by 41.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 82,428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,368,000 after buying an additional 24,030 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 150.4% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 4,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 2,898 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Lakeland Financial by 40.2% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $776,000 after acquiring an additional 3,417 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on LKFN shares. Hovde Group assumed coverage on Lakeland Financial in a report on Friday, March 21st. They set a “market perform” rating and a $66.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $74.00 price target (up from $73.00) on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

Lakeland Financial Stock Up 0.6 %

Lakeland Financial stock opened at $59.53 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40 and a beta of 0.63. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $57.45 and a 52-week high of $78.61. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $64.75 and its 200 day moving average is $67.39.

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, beating 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 research analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, January 25th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. This is a positive change from Lakeland Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director M Scott Welch purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $61.40 per share, for a total transaction of $307,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 39,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,394,600. This trade represents a 14.71 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Donald Robinson-Gay sold 550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.25, for a total value of $36,437.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $329,527.50. The trade was a 9.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.