Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) Shares Bought by State Street Corp

State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 1.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,227,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 79,955 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp owned approximately 3.66% of Lincoln National worth $196,244,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Lincoln National by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 239,091 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,534,000 after purchasing an additional 28,388 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in Lincoln National by 14.9% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 96,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,055,000 after purchasing an additional 12,544 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Lincoln National by 23.2% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. Petrus Trust Company LTA acquired a new stake in Lincoln National during the third quarter valued at approximately $828,000. Finally, New Vernon Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Lincoln National during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,508,000. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LNC opened at $32.81 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $33.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.44, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.77. Lincoln National Co. has a 52 week low of $24.62 and a 52 week high of $36.98.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.61 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 2.51%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.23 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Lincoln National Co. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 128.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on LNC shares. Barclays upped their price target on Lincoln National from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.25.

Insider Activity at Lincoln National

In other Lincoln National news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 2,863 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total value of $103,068.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,644 shares in the company, valued at $3,587,184. This represents a 2.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Company 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.