Federated Hermes Inc. Grows Position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 307.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,225 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $187,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNC. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in Lincoln National by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 145,591 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,595,000 after buying an additional 5,898 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 70,926 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,751,000 after purchasing an additional 5,125 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 47.4% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 35,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $889,000 after purchasing an additional 11,578 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,468,971 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,269,000 after purchasing an additional 289,733 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on LNC shares. StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Lincoln National from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Lincoln National from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Lincoln National from $29.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.45.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of LNC stock opened at $28.10 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $28.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.58. The stock has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a PE ratio of 3.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 1.80. Lincoln National Co. has a 1 year low of $18.50 and a 1 year high of $32.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.26.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 19.50% and a net margin of 11.31%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lincoln National Co. will post 6.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.41%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Owen Ryan purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.90 per share, with a total value of $259,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $259,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lincoln National Company 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.