Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) Shares Pass Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Shares of Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $59.40 and traded as high as $62.56. Lakeland Financial shares last traded at $61.05, with a volume of 338,475 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LKFN. Hovde Group raised their price target on Lakeland Financial from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Lakeland Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Lakeland Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lakeland Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.50.

Lakeland Financial Price Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30 and a beta of 0.73.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 14.79% and a net margin of 25.81%.The company had revenue of $69.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.42 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, April 25th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 24th. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lakeland Financial news, Director Steven D. Ross sold 1,281 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.50, for a total value of $80,062.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 27,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,687,562.50. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Eric H. Ottinger sold 2,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.49, for a total transaction of $131,342.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 33,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,044,972.93. This trade represents a 6.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,336 shares of company stock worth $570,251. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lakeland Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in Lakeland Financial by 40.5% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its stake in Lakeland Financial by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 20,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,184,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 24,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,422,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 9,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $611,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 186.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Lakeland Financial

Lakeland Financial Corporation is a bank holding company based in Warsaw, Indiana, that operates through its principal subsidiary, Lakeland Bank. The company offers a full range of commercial and consumer banking services, including deposit products such as checking accounts, savings accounts and certificates of deposit, as well as a variety of loan offerings spanning commercial real estate, agricultural, mortgage, consumer and small-business lending.

Originally organized in 1893 as Kosciusko County State Bank, the enterprise reorganized as a bank holding company in 1984 to facilitate strategic growth and diversification.