Loudon Investment Management LLC Raises Position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Loudon Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 128,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the quarter. Lincoln National makes up 2.3% of Loudon Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Loudon Investment Management LLC owned 0.08% of Lincoln National worth $4,076,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LNC. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the 4th quarter worth $54,189,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the 4th quarter valued at $8,155,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Lincoln National by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,309,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $104,281,000 after purchasing an additional 223,129 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in shares of Lincoln National by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,355,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,206,000 after purchasing an additional 207,800 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Lincoln National by 4.2% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 193,025 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on LNC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.40.

Lincoln National Price Performance

LNC stock opened at $36.62 on Friday. Lincoln National Co. has a 12 month low of $25.80 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. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $35.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.69. The stock has a market cap of $6.24 billion, a PE ratio of 1.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.76.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last released 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 net margin of 17.76% and a return on equity of 18.47%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.91%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.79%.

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.