Stephanie Leniski Bought 60% More Shares In Lakeland Financial

Potential Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) shareholders may wish to note that the Senior VP & Chief Retail Banking Officer, Stephanie Leniski, recently bought US$293k worth of stock, paying US$65.04 for each share. We reckon that's a good sign, especially since the purchase boosted their holding by 60%.

View our latest analysis for Lakeland Financial

Lakeland Financial Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The insider, Michael Kubacki, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$1.9m worth of shares at a price of US$71.51 each. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of US$67.47. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. We note that this sale took place at around the current price, so it isn't a major concern, though it's hardly a good sign.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$337k for 5.27k shares. But insiders sold 68.42k shares worth US$4.6m. All up, insiders sold more shares in Lakeland Financial than they bought, over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).

Insider Ownership Of Lakeland Financial

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 2.9% of Lakeland Financial shares, worth about US$49m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Lakeland Financial Insiders?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. On the other hand the transaction history, over the last year, isn't so positive. We don't take much heart from transactions by Lakeland Financial insiders over the last year. But they own a reasonable amount of the company, and there was some buying recently. Overall they seem reasonably aligned. While it's good to be aware of what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. For example - Lakeland Financial has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.