Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Purchases 208,114 Shares of Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Lincoln National Corporation by 7.2%, now holding approximately 1.81% of the company's stock worth $110.75 million.
• Lincoln National's stock opened at $41.91, with a twelve-month high of $42.36 and an earnings report showing $2.36 EPS, surpassing estimates.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, translating to a 4.3% dividend yield, with the payout ratio at 31.41%.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 7.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,084,433 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 208,114 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 1.81% of Lincoln National worth $110,753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LNC. Mariner LLC grew its position in Lincoln National by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 28,934 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $917,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 33.5% in the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 14,356 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $455,000 after purchasing an additional 3,606 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 53.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,258,512 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,907,000 after purchasing an additional 436,462 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 498.5% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 24,716 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $784,000 after purchasing an additional 20,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 106,896 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,390,000 after purchasing an additional 7,754 shares during the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on LNC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, National Bankshares set a $41.00 price target on shares of Lincoln National in a report on Monday, August 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $39.70.

Insider Activity at Lincoln National

In other news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.29, for a total transaction of $196,450.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 123,815 shares in the company, valued at $4,864,691.35. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of Lincoln National stock traded up $0.11 on Thursday, hitting $42.54. 223,511 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,944,386. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.06 billion, a PE ratio of 7.43, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.42. Lincoln National Corporation has a 1 year low of $27.58 and a 1 year high of $42.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.26.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $4.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 company posted $1.87 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.41%.

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.