Erste Asset Management GmbH Purchases Shares of 28,800 Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 28,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,165,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LNC. Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Lincoln National in the first quarter worth $241,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 30.9% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 71,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,585,000 after buying an additional 16,991 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 316.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 59,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,123,000 after acquiring an additional 44,936 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 623,322 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,383,000 after acquiring an additional 29,421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in Lincoln National by 39.1% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 19,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $701,000 after acquiring an additional 5,486 shares during the period. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on LNC. National Bank Financial set a $45.00 price target on shares of Lincoln National in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Lincoln National from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $41.00 to $48.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Lincoln National from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Lincoln National in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Lincoln National from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder National Life Insuranc Lincoln acquired 2,254,486 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $11.09 per share, for a total transaction of $25,002,249.74. Following the transaction, the insider 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 3,519 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.15, for a total transaction of $155,363.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 118,985 shares in the company, valued at $5,253,187.75. The trade was a 2.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Stock Down 7.0%

NYSE LNC opened at $34.28 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.39. Lincoln National Corporation has a one year low of $27.58 and a one year high of $46.82. The firm has a market cap of $6.52 billion, a PE ratio of 6.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $4.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.52% and a net margin of 6.46%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.91 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.3%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.