Xponance Inc. Has $253,000 Holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 21.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,973 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,404 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $253,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in Lincoln National by 1.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,227,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $196,244,000 after purchasing an additional 79,955 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,373,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $106,322,000 after buying an additional 152,622 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Lincoln National by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,309,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $104,281,000 after buying an additional 223,129 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in Lincoln National by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,355,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,206,000 after acquiring an additional 207,800 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth approximately $54,189,000. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on LNC shares. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Lincoln National from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.40.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LNC opened at $35.72 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.09 billion, a PE ratio of 1.94, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $36.30 and a 200-day moving average of $33.94. Lincoln National Co. has a 12 month low of $25.80 and a 12 month high of $39.85.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.04. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 17.76%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.04%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.79%.

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.