Keynote Financial Services LLC Takes Position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Keynote Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 35,561 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,135,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 249.4% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 873 shares during the period. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 55,127 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.57, for a total transaction of $1,795,486.39. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 198,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,457,165.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Lincoln National from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Lincoln National from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.18.

Lincoln National Trading Down 11.8 %

Shares of LNC traded down $4.03 on Friday, hitting $30.02. 4,210,155 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,314,085. Lincoln National Co. has a 1 year low of $20.85 and a 1 year high of $36.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $32.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $5.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.65 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 12.24%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.02 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lincoln National Co. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.00%. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is 24.62%.

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.