National Life Insuranc Lincoln Acquires 2,254,486 Shares of Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Stock

Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) major shareholder National Life Insuranc Lincoln acquired 2,254,486 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $11.09 per share, with a total value of $25,002,249.74. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 9,784,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $108,508,130.98. The trade was a 29.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

National Life Insuranc Lincoln also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, December 19th, National Life Insuranc Lincoln acquired 2,300,098 shares of Lincoln National stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $10.87 per share, with a total value of $25,002,065.26.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Lincoln National stock traded down $2.65 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $34.22. The stock had a trading volume of 1,538,346 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,105,779. The company has a 50-day moving average of $41.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Lincoln National Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $27.58 and a fifty-two week high of $46.82. The company has a market cap of $6.50 billion, a PE ratio of 6.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.30.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $4.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.52% and a net margin of 6.46%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.91 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.3%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.90%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln National

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 6.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,903,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $802,717,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183,934 shares during the last quarter. Bain Capital Prairie LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $835,360,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,233,327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $277,574,000 after acquiring an additional 502,600 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Lincoln National by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,199,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $214,504,000 after acquiring an additional 40,676 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Lincoln National by 21.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,952,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $240,051,000 after purchasing an additional 1,035,505 shares during the period. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Lincoln National from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $41.00 to $48.00 in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Research cut shares of Lincoln National from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Mizuho assumed coverage on Lincoln National in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $52.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Lincoln National from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lincoln National presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.58.

Lincoln National Company Profile

Lincoln National Corporation, doing business as Lincoln Financial Group, is a diversified financial services holding company focused on providing retirement, insurance, and wealth management solutions in the United States and select international markets. Headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, the company operates through several business segments, including Retirement Plan Services, Life Insurance, and Group Protection. Its offerings are designed to help individuals, families, and institutions plan and prepare for their financial futures.

The Retirement Plan Services segment delivers recordkeeping, administrative services, and investment management for defined contribution and defined benefit plans.