National Bank of Canada FI Buys 315,398 Shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 20,127.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 316,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 315,398 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 0.19% of Lincoln National worth $10,051,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNC. M Holdings Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Lincoln National in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Lincoln National by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 20.2% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Stock Down 10.3 %

Shares of LNC opened at $29.90 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $36.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.15. Lincoln National Co. has a one year low of $25.80 and a one year high of $39.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.63, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.55.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (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 forecast that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.02%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on LNC shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective 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, ten have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.45.

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.