M Scott Welch Buys 5,000 Shares of Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) Stock

Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) Director M Scott Welch bought 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $55.45 per share, for a total transaction of $277,250.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 54,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,994,300. The trade was a 10.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.M Scott Welch also recently made the following trade(s): On Friday, February 27th, M Scott Welch bought 10,000 shares of Lakeland Financial stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $57.95 per share, with a total value of $579,500.00. Get Lakeland Financial alerts:Lakeland Financial Price PerformanceShares of LKFN stock traded up $0.61 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $57.11. 47,913 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 171,522. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $50.00 and a 52-week high of $69.40. The stock has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.24 and a beta of 0.73. The stock's fifty day moving average is $59.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.76. Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.02. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 24.51% and a return on equity of 14.19%. The firm had revenue of $69.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.45 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year. Lakeland Financial Increases DividendThe firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 5th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, January 25th were given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 23rd. This is a positive change from Lakeland Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Lakeland Financial's payout ratio is 51.87%. Wall Street Analyst Weigh InA number of equities research analysts have commented on LKFN shares. Stephens set a $66.00 price target on Lakeland Financial in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lakeland Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday. Hovde Group downgraded shares of Lakeland Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $68.00.Get Our Latest Stock Report on LKFNInstitutional Inflows and OutflowsSeveral institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LKFN. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Lakeland Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $795,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new position in Lakeland Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,416,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Lakeland Financial by 148.1% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 82,130 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,686,000 after buying an additional 49,020 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc purchased a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $991,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 8,212 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $469,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133 shares during the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Lakeland Financial Company Profile (Get Free Report)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.Recommended StoriesFive stocks we like better than Lakeland FinancialWhy this rare resource setup is catching early attentionMy Epstein StoryRead this or regret it foreverBuy this Gold Stock Before May 15th, 2026The Market Just Split in Two (URGENT)This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.Should You Invest $1,000 in Lakeland Financial Right Now?Before you consider Lakeland Financial, you'll want to hear this.MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. 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