334,254 Shares in Lincoln National Corporation $LNC Acquired by CSM Advisors LLC

CSM Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 334,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $13,481,000. CSM Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.18% of Lincoln National as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the 3rd quarter valued at $225,000. Bridgefront Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the third quarter worth $672,000. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 5.5% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 317,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,816,000 after acquiring an additional 16,708 shares in the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln National during the third quarter valued at $252,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in Lincoln National by 34.9% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 218,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,801,000 after purchasing an additional 56,488 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LNC opened at $32.64 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. Lincoln National Corporation has a 52 week low of $27.58 and a 52 week high of $46.82. The firm has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.30.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $4.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.91 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is presently 33.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LNC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Lincoln National from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $41.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Mizuho started coverage on Lincoln National in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $52.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln National in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Lincoln National from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lincoln National presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.46.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln National

In other news, major shareholder National Life Insuranc Lincoln bought 2,254,486 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $11.09 per share, for a total transaction of $25,002,249.74. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 9,784,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $108,508,130.98. The trade was a 29.94% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 118,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,957,286.27. This represents a 2.51% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 21,050 shares of company stock worth $734,041. 0.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lincoln National 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.