Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Given New $54.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) had its price target hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $52.00 to $54.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on LNC. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Lincoln National from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Lincoln National from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Lincoln National from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.25.

Lincoln National Stock Up 0.7%

Lincoln National stock opened at $40.52 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Lincoln National has a 1-year low of $32.18 and a 1-year high of $47.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.16.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $4.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 17.35% and a net margin of 12.21%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.36 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Lincoln National will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 12th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gary Kelly sold 15,007 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.50, for a total transaction of $397,685.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 11,000 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.28, for a total value of $498,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 119,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,431,200.16. This represents a 8.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln National

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the 3rd quarter worth $206,000. Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in Lincoln National by 8.5% in the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 15,391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $631,000 after acquiring an additional 1,208 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Lincoln National by 8.8% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $384,000 after acquiring an additional 774 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lincoln National by 112.8% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 50,588 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,037,000 after acquiring an additional 26,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Lincoln National by 24.1% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 1,079 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Company Profile

Lincoln National Corporation, operating under the Lincoln Financial Group brand, is a financial services company that provides insurance and retirement solutions primarily in the United States. Its businesses serve individuals, families, employers and institutions through a portfolio of life insurance, annuities and workplace benefit products.

The company’s offerings include term and permanent life insurance, variable and fixed annuities, and retirement plan services designed to support income and financial planning needs.