Cetera Investment Advisers Buys 19,829 Shares of 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 grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 32.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,424 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LNC. Hollencrest Capital Management raised its holdings in Lincoln National by 383.2% in the 1st quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 749 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 594 shares during the period. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Lincoln National in the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its holdings in Lincoln National by 182.2% in the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,250 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 807 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on LNC. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company restated a "positive" rating on shares of Lincoln National in a report on Tuesday. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Lincoln National to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln National

In other Lincoln National news, EVP Brian Kroll sold 10,075 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.10, for a total value of $333,482.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 48,743 shares in the company, valued at $1,613,393.30. The trade was a 17.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 43,622 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 154,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,051,463.56. This trade represents a 22.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 58,697 shares of company stock worth $1,959,862 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of Lincoln National stock traded down $0.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $38.17. 2,578,951 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,262,816. 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 firm's fifty day moving average price is $34.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.47. Lincoln National Corporation has a twelve month low of $27.58 and a twelve month high of $39.85. The company has a market cap of $7.24 billion, a PE ratio of 6.66, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.42.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.87 EPS. Analysts forecast that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. Lincoln National's payout ratio is 31.41%.

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.