Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Buys 671 Shares of Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 58,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 671 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $2,011,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hollencrest Capital Management grew its holdings in Lincoln National by 383.2% during the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln National during the second quarter worth $29,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Lincoln National during the first quarter worth $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in Lincoln National by 82.9% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Lincoln National during the second quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Lincoln National

In other news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.29, for a total transaction of $196,450.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 123,815 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,864,691.35. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lincoln National Stock Down 4.5%

Shares of NYSE LNC opened at $38.10 on Friday. Lincoln National Corporation has a one year low of $27.58 and a one year high of $43.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.26 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $40.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.22 billion, a PE ratio of 6.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.43.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.45. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 19.14% and a net margin of 6.34%.The firm had revenue of $4.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.87 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LNC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Lincoln National from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Lincoln National from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wolfe Research upgraded Lincoln National to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Lincoln National from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $43.09.

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.