Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 1,183,934 Shares of Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) by 6.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,903,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,183,934 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 10.48% of Lincoln National worth $802,717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Phillips Financial Management LLC boosted its position in 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 holdings 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 buying an additional 268 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted 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 worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 1.7% during the third 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 period. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. increased its holdings in Lincoln National by 4.0% in the third 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln National in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Lincoln National in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $52.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, National Bank Financial set a $45.00 price target on shares of Lincoln National in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.25.

Insider Activity at Lincoln National

In other news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 3,519 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP James Waltman Reid sold 3,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.81, for a total transaction of $127,520.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 118,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,957,286.27. This represents a 2.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:LNC opened at $39.90 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $7.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.51, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.31. Lincoln National Corporation has a 12 month low of $27.58 and a 12 month high of $46.82. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $4.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.85 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.52% and a net margin of 6.46%.The company’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.91 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is presently 33.90%.

About Lincoln National

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.