Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Acquires 21,192 Shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 14.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 164,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,192 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned 0.10% of Lincoln National worth $5,203,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Lincoln National by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,227,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $196,244,000 after purchasing an additional 79,955 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Lincoln National by 4.2% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,763,703 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $150,104,000 after buying an additional 193,025 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 4.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,373,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $106,322,000 after buying an additional 152,622 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 7.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,309,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $104,281,000 after acquiring an additional 223,129 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in Lincoln National by 9.7% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,355,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,206,000 after acquiring an additional 207,800 shares in the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of Lincoln National stock opened at $37.40 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $34.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.37 billion, a PE ratio of 2.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.79. Lincoln National Co. has a 12 month low of $25.60 and a 12 month high of $39.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

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

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is presently 9.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LNC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.10.

Lincoln National 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.