WBI Investments LLC Takes Position in Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

WBI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 15,409 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $621,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the second quarter valued at about $87,362,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 6.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,903,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $802,717,000 after buying an additional 1,183,934 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Lincoln National by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,730,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $231,121,000 after buying an additional 1,157,599 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Lincoln National by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,952,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $240,051,000 after buying an additional 1,035,505 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Lincoln National by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,645,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $160,732,000 after buying an additional 774,721 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on LNC. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $43.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 9th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Lincoln National from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. National Bank Financial set a $45.00 target price on Lincoln National in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Lincoln National from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.46.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder National Life Insuranc Lincoln bought 2,300,098 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $10.87 per share, with a total value of $25,002,065.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,529,837 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,849,328.19. This represents a 43.98% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.46, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 206,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,104,239.14. This trade represents a 4.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 21,050 shares of company stock worth $734,041 over the last 90 days. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of LNC opened at $33.80 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $38.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.69. The firm has a market cap of $6.43 billion, a PE ratio of 6.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.30. 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.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.35. Lincoln National had a net margin of 6.46% and a return on equity of 18.52%. The business had revenue of $4.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.91 EPS. Lincoln National’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is 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.