Norges Bank Makes New Investment in Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

Norges Bank bought a new position in Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 2,270,699 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $101,114,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in 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 worth $802,717,000 after purchasing an additional 1,183,934 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Lincoln National by 0.7% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,199,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $214,504,000 after purchasing an additional 40,676 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 25.3% during 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 in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,879,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $196,805,000 after buying an additional 234,415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 58.7% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,681,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $163,922,000 after buying an additional 1,361,835 shares in the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln National Stock Up 2.1%

NYSE LNC opened at $34.75 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $35.56 and its 200 day moving average is $38.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Lincoln National Corporation has a 12 month low of $31.69 and a 12 month high of $46.82. The stock has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a PE ratio of 4.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.17.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.08. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.07% and a net margin of 9.17%.The company had revenue of $4.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.2%. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is currently 20.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.74, for a total value of $261,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 198,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,487,725.66. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LNC. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. National Bank Financial set a $40.00 price objective on Lincoln National in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings cut Lincoln National from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Lincoln National from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Lincoln National from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.00.

Lincoln National 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.