Ellis Investment Partners LLC Purchases 2,768 Shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Ellis Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 7.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 37,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,768 shares during the quarter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $1,196,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the 2nd quarter valued at about $142,148,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Lincoln National by 59.2% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,086,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $95,985,000 after purchasing an additional 1,147,896 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Lincoln National by 3,488.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 966,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,669,000 after purchasing an additional 939,447 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Lincoln National during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,649,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Lincoln National by 49.5% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,150,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,892,000 after purchasing an additional 711,951 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of Lincoln National stock traded down $0.75 on Friday, hitting $32.02. The stock had a trading volume of 1,328,258 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,640,440. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Lincoln National Co. has a one year low of $20.85 and a one year high of $36.46. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.94. The stock has a market cap of $5.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.38, a PEG ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.81.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.07. Lincoln National had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 17.13%. The business had revenue of $5.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lincoln National Co. will post 5.73 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued 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 5.62%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LNC. StockNews.com cut shares of Lincoln National from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 19th. TD Cowen started coverage on Lincoln National in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $34.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Lincoln National from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.00.

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.