AQR Capital Management LLC Raises Position in Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Lincoln National Corporation by 84.5% in the first quarter, owning about 1.20% of the company worth $72 million.
• Lincoln National recently reported earnings per share of $2.36, exceeding analysts' expectations, despite revenue falling short of projections at $4.04 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45, representing an annualized yield of 4.3%, with the ex-dividend date set for October 10th.

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 84.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,041,928 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 935,225 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 1.20% of Lincoln National worth $72,039,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNC. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its position in shares of Lincoln National by 383.2% in the 1st quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 749 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Lincoln National in the first quarter valued at $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in Lincoln National by 82.9% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in Lincoln National in the first quarter valued at $66,000. Finally, MAI Capital Management lifted its holdings in Lincoln National by 18.1% during 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln National

In other news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.29, for a total value of $196,450.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 123,815 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,864,691.35. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Lincoln National stock traded up $0.63 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $42.18. 1,731,420 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,578,925. Lincoln National Corporation has a 12-month low of $27.58 and a 12-month high of $43.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $8.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.48. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $38.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.33.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 net margin of 6.34% and a return on equity of 19.14%. The business had revenue of $4.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.87 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. National Bankshares set a $41.00 price objective on Lincoln National in a report on Monday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lincoln National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Lincoln National in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $39.70.

Lincoln National 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.