LPL Financial LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 190.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 741,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 486,478 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $23,508,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 1.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,227,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $196,244,000 after purchasing an additional 79,955 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lincoln National by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,373,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $106,322,000 after buying an additional 152,622 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Lincoln National by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,309,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,281,000 after acquiring an additional 223,129 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,355,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,206,000 after acquiring an additional 207,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $54,189,000. 72.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on LNC shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Lincoln National from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.40.

Lincoln National Trading Down 2.9 %

Lincoln National stock opened at $35.72 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Lincoln National Co. has a 12 month low of $25.80 and a 12 month high of $39.85. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.01. The stock has a market cap of $6.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 1.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.76.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.04. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 17.76%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is 9.79%.

About Lincoln National

Lincoln National Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates multiple insurance and retirement businesses in the United States. It operates in four segments: Life Insurance, Annuities, Group Protection, and Retirement Plan Services. The Life Insurance segment provides life insurance products, including term insurance, universal life insurance (UL), indexed universal life insurance, variable universal life insurance (VUL), linked-benefit UL and VUL products, and critical illness and long-term care riders.