Blueshift Asset Management LLC Takes $449,000 Position in Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC)

Key Points

• Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln National Corporation worth approximately $449,000, buying 12,504 shares in the first quarter.
• Insider activity saw two executives, Brian Kroll and Sean Woodroffe, selling significant amounts of stock, leading to a decrease in their ownership by 17.13% and 22.06%, respectively.
• Despite a quarterly earnings report that surpassed expectations, analysts have a mixed outlook on Lincoln National, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a price target averaging $38.78.

Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 12,504 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $449,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hollencrest Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 383.2% during the first 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. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in Lincoln National during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Lincoln National in the first quarter worth $33,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln National in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 182.2% during the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,250 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 807 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Lincoln National

In other news, EVP Brian Kroll sold 10,075 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 48,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,613,393.30. This represents a 17.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 43,622 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.78, for a total value of $1,429,929.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 154,102 shares in the company, valued at $5,051,463.56. The trade was a 22.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Lincoln National from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lincoln National has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $38.78.

Lincoln National Trading Down 3.3%

Shares of LNC stock opened at $36.85 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.42. Lincoln National Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $27.58 and a fifty-two week high of $39.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $4.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.65 billion. Lincoln National had a net margin of 6.34% and a return on equity of 19.14%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.87 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. Lincoln National's payout ratio is 25.57%.

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.

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