Kendall Capital Management Invests $909,000 in Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

Kendall Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 25,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $909,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNC. Insight Inv LLC increased its position in Lincoln National by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 48,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $185,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $552,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Lincoln National by 3.2% during the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 8,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew its holdings in Lincoln National by 3.3% during the first quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 8,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $308,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Lincoln National stock opened at $42.15 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.07 billion, a PE ratio of 3.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.15. Lincoln National Corporation has a 52 week low of $32.18 and a 52 week high of $47.67. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. Lincoln National had a net margin of 12.21% and a return on equity of 17.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.36 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 12th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.60%.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln National

In other news, Director Gary C. Kelly sold 15,007 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.50, for a total transaction of $397,685.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 11,000 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.28, for a total value of $498,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 119,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,431,200.16. This represents a 8.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 56,007 shares of company stock valued at $1,929,266 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LNC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Lincoln National from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $47.00 price objective on shares of Lincoln National in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. National Bank Financial set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Lincoln National in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lincoln National currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.43.

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.