Conning Inc. Takes $694,000 Position in Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC)

Conning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 19,329 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $694,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNC. Norges Bank bought a new position in Lincoln National during the 4th quarter worth $76,951,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 301.2% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,522,195 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $48,269,000 after buying an additional 1,142,759 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Lincoln National by 84.9% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,543,624 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $48,948,000 after acquiring an additional 708,584 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 1,818.4% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 661,972 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $23,771,000 after acquiring an additional 627,466 shares during the period. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Lincoln National by 190.9% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 741,330 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $23,508,000 after acquiring an additional 486,478 shares during the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LNC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Lincoln National from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Lincoln National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $37.00.

Lincoln National Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of LNC traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $34.77. The stock had a trading volume of 1,306,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,663,001. Lincoln National Corporation has a 1-year low of $27.58 and a 1-year high of $39.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.25 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.71 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 7.00%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.18%. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln National

In other Lincoln National news, EVP Brian Kroll sold 10,075 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,613,393.30. This trade represents a 17.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 43,622 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.78, for a total transaction of $1,429,929.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 154,102 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

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.