Loudon Investment Management LLC Purchases 5,560 Shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Loudon Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 120,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,560 shares during the period. Lincoln National makes up about 2.2% of Loudon Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Loudon Investment Management LLC owned about 0.07% of Lincoln National worth $3,739,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 78,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,442,000 after purchasing an additional 3,491 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 47,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,477,000 after acquiring an additional 873 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 734,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,834,000 after acquiring an additional 15,495 shares during the last quarter. Altus Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $307,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 45,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,435,000 after acquiring an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on LNC shares. Bank of America decreased their price target on Lincoln National from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Barclays began coverage on Lincoln National in a report on Wednesday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Lincoln National from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.64.

Lincoln National Stock Down 5.6 %

Shares of Lincoln National stock traded down $1.76 during trading on Friday, reaching $29.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,222,183 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,664,527. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.84. Lincoln National Co. has a 1-year low of $20.85 and a 1-year high of $36.46. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.23.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.65 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 12.24%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lincoln National Co. will post 5.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.11%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.62%.

About Lincoln National

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.