Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Given New $31.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) had its target price reduced by Bank of America from $32.00 to $31.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on LNC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Lincoln National from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Lincoln National from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com raised Lincoln National from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $31.18.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of Lincoln National stock opened at $32.19 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $31.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.40, a PEG ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 1.84. Lincoln National has a twelve month low of $20.85 and a twelve month high of $33.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.64 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 19.50% and a net margin of 11.31%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lincoln National will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.59%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.62%.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln National

In other news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 55,127 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.57, for a total transaction of $1,795,486.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,255 shares in the company, valued at $6,457,165.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln National

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Security Financial Services INC. lifted its position in Lincoln National by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Security Financial Services INC. now owns 8,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in Lincoln National by 32.6% in the first quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in Lincoln National by 4.4% in the second quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 10,018 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares during the period. Arden Trust Co lifted its position in Lincoln National by 3.1% in the second quarter. Arden Trust Co now owns 16,846 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the period. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Lincoln National by 49.9% in the first quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,577 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Lincoln National

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.