Norges Bank Invests $76.95 Million in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 2,426,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $76,951,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M Holdings Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Lincoln National by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Lincoln National in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LNC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lincoln National currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.45.

Lincoln National Stock Up 3.6 %

Shares of LNC opened at $37.32 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Lincoln National Co. has a one year low of $25.80 and a one year high of $39.85. The company has a market cap of $6.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.55.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.04. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 17.76%. Research analysts forecast that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.82%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.