Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 394,028 Shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 141.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 673,095 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 394,028 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.39% of Lincoln National worth $24,171,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Lincoln National by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,460 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Lincoln National by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. grew its position in Lincoln National by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 6,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Lincoln National by 30.4% during the 4th 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. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Lincoln National by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 49,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,566,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln National

In other news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 43,622 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.78, for a total transaction of $1,429,929.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 154,102 shares in the company, valued at $5,051,463.56. This trade represents a 22.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brian Kroll sold 10,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.10, for a total transaction of $333,482.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 48,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,613,393.30. This represents a 17.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of LNC opened at $33.10 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $32.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.86. The company has a market capitalization of $5.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 1.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. Lincoln National Co. has a fifty-two week low of $27.58 and a fifty-two week high of $39.85.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.06. Lincoln National had a net margin of 17.76% and a return on equity of 18.47%. The business had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.44%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is currently 25.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on LNC. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.82.

About Lincoln National

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.