Vest Financial LLC Raises Position in Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 413,428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 28,625 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $18,410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the first quarter worth approximately $241,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 16,991 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 44,936 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 5.0% during the first 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 worth $22,383,000 after buying an additional 29,421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 39.1% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 19,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $701,000 after buying an additional 5,486 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Lincoln National

In other Lincoln National news, major shareholder National Life Insuranc Lincoln acquired 2,254,486 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $11.09 per share, for a total transaction of $25,002,249.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,784,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $108,508,130.98. The trade was a 29.94% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP James Waltman Reid sold 3,050 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.81, for a total value of $127,520.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 118,567 shares in the company, valued at $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 have sold 21,050 shares of company stock worth $734,041. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on LNC shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $43.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Lincoln National from $43.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, National Bank Financial set a $48.00 price target on Lincoln National in a report on Monday, April 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lincoln National currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.79.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Lincoln National stock opened at $37.37 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $35.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.59. Lincoln National Corporation has a 12-month low of $31.08 and a 12-month high of $46.82. The stock has a market cap of $7.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.04, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.23.

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, 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 company had revenue of $4.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.91 EPS. Lincoln National’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. 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.