National Life Insuranc Lincoln Purchases 2,254,486 Shares of Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Stock

Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) major shareholder National Life Insuranc Lincoln acquired 2,254,486 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $11.09 per share, with a total value of $25,002,249.74. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 9,784,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $108,508,130.98. This represents a 29.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

National Life Insuranc Lincoln also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, December 19th, National Life Insuranc Lincoln bought 2,300,098 shares of Lincoln National stock. The stock was bought at an average price of $10.87 per share, with a total value of $25,002,065.26.

Lincoln National Stock Down 7.2%

LNC stock traded down $2.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $34.22. The company had a trading volume of 1,538,346 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,105,779. Lincoln National Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $27.58 and a fifty-two week high of $46.82. The company has a market capitalization of $6.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.40.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $4.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.85 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.52% and a net margin of 6.46%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.91 EPS. Analysts forecast that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is 33.90%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln National

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bain Capital Prairie LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the fourth quarter worth approximately $835,360,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the 2nd quarter valued at $87,362,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 58.7% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,681,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $163,922,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361,835 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 6.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,903,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $802,717,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183,934 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 25.3% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,730,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $231,121,000 after acquiring an additional 1,157,599 shares in the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their price target on Lincoln National from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Lincoln National from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $41.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Lincoln National from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. National Bank Financial set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Lincoln National in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.58.

About Lincoln National

Lincoln National Corporation, doing business as Lincoln Financial Group, is a diversified financial services holding company focused on providing retirement, insurance, and wealth management solutions in the United States and select international markets. Headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, the company operates through several business segments, including Retirement Plan Services, Life Insurance, and Group Protection. Its offerings are designed to help individuals, families, and institutions plan and prepare for their financial futures.

The Retirement Plan Services segment delivers recordkeeping, administrative services, and investment management for defined contribution and defined benefit plans.