Cetera Investment Advisers Increases Stake in Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Lincoln National Corporation by 32.7% during the first quarter, owning 80,424 shares valued at approximately $2.88 million.
• Lincoln National reported earnings of $2.36 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations by $0.45, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share.
• Analysts have provided mixed ratings on Lincoln National, with price targets ranging from $32 to $42, and a current consensus average target price of $39.22.

Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 32.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 80,424 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 19,829 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Lincoln National were worth $2,888,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 11,254 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 908 shares during the period. Convergence Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the first quarter worth about $963,000. SYM FINANCIAL Corp grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 5.9% during the first quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 7,154 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Loudon Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 4.7% during the first quarter. Loudon Investment Management LLC now owns 134,614 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,834,000 after purchasing an additional 6,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in Lincoln National by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 98,118 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,523,000 after buying an additional 2,118 shares in the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Lincoln National stock opened at $38.75 on Wednesday. Lincoln National Corporation has a 12-month low of $27.58 and a 12-month high of $39.85. 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 company has a market capitalization of $7.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.42. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $34.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.36.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $4.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.87 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio is 31.41%.

Insider Activity at Lincoln National

In other Lincoln National news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 43,622 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 154,102 shares in the company, valued at $5,051,463.56. This represents a 22.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Brian Kroll sold 10,075 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.10, for a total transaction of $333,482.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 48,743 shares in the company, valued at $1,613,393.30. This trade represents a 17.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LNC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Lincoln National from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays increased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $39.22.

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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