Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Boosts Position in Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,916,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 61,873 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 2.59% of Lincoln National worth $170,116,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LNC. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 5.2% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 5,401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $187,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming increased its holdings in Lincoln National by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 11,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital increased its holdings in Lincoln National by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 10,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised its position in Lincoln National by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 7,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 18.1% in the 1st quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 2,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the period. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln National Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE:LNC opened at $41.05 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.26. Lincoln National Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $27.58 and a fifty-two week high of $43.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.49.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.80 billion. Lincoln National had a net margin of 6.34% and a return on equity of 19.14%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.06 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln National

In other Lincoln National news, Director Owen Ryan acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $42.17 per share, with a total value of $84,340.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 12,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $506,040. This trade represents a 20.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on LNC shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln National in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Lincoln National to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.82.

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.