Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) Shares Acquired by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 19.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,386 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Merchants Corp purchased a new position in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $269,000. Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,830,000. Jump Financial LLC increased its stake in Lincoln National by 73.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 306,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,569,000 after purchasing an additional 130,047 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Lincoln National by 862.6% in the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 116,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,882,000 after purchasing an additional 104,598 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Lincoln National by 2,107.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 4,279,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $105,703,000 after purchasing an additional 4,085,637 shares in the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln National

In other news, Director Owen Ryan purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $25.90 per share, with a total value of $259,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $259,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lincoln National Price Performance

LNC stock opened at $28.64 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $28.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.38. Lincoln National Co. has a 12-month low of $18.50 and a 12-month high of $32.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $4.87 billion, a PE ratio of -5.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 1.81.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.13. Lincoln National had a positive return on equity of 20.81% and a negative net margin of 6.46%. The firm had revenue of $1.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Lincoln National Co. will post 6.47 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -36.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LNC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Lincoln National from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com raised Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Lincoln National from $29.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Lincoln National from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.45.

Lincoln National Profile

Lincoln National Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates multiple insurance and retirement businesses in the United States. It operates in four segments: Life Insurance, Annuities, Group Protection, and Retirement Plan Services. The Life Insurance segment provides life insurance products, including term insurance, universal life insurance (UL), indexed universal life insurance, variable universal life insurance (VUL), linked-benefit UL and VUL products, and critical illness and long-term care riders.