13,150 Shares in Lincoln National Corporation $LNC Purchased by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 13,150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $530,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Phillips Financial Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Phillips Financial Management LLC now owns 21,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $881,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 5.2% in the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 5,401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $187,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Lincoln National by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 8,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 17,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $723,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 7,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LNC. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Lincoln National in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Lincoln National from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Zacks Research cut Lincoln National from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Lincoln National in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $52.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lincoln National news, Director Owen Ryan bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $42.17 per share, for a total transaction of $84,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $506,040. The trade was a 20.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 3,519 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.15, for a total transaction of $155,363.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 118,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,253,187.75. This trade represents a 2.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Lincoln National stock opened at $39.72 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $43.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.63. The firm has a market cap of $7.55 billion, a PE ratio of 3.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. Lincoln National Corporation has a one year low of $27.58 and a one year high of $46.82.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $4.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.80 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.77% and a net margin of 11.49%.During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.06 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Lincoln National Corporation 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 Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.16%.

Lincoln National Company Profile

Lincoln National Corporation, doing business as Lincoln Financial Group, is a diversified financial services holding company focused on providing retirement, insurance, and wealth management solutions in the United States and select international markets. Headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, the company operates through several business segments, including Retirement Plan Services, Life Insurance, and Group Protection. Its offerings are designed to help individuals, families, and institutions plan and prepare for their financial futures.

The Retirement Plan Services segment delivers recordkeeping, administrative services, and investment management for defined contribution and defined benefit plans.