Westhampton Capital LLC Invests $288,000 in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Westhampton Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 9,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $288,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LNC. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Lincoln National by 535.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Lincoln National by 95.3% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares during the period. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 459.9% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,711 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on LNC shares. Barclays lowered their price target on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Lincoln National from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.40.

Lincoln National Trading Up 3.7 %

Shares of NYSE:LNC opened at $35.35 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 1.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.36. Lincoln National Co. has a 1 year low of $25.09 and a 1 year high of $36.98.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.61 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 2.51%. Lincoln National’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.23 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lincoln National Co. will post 6.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is presently 128.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 2,863 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total value of $103,068.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,587,184. This trade represents a 2.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.