Focus Partners Wealth Buys New Shares in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 14,044 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $445,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,460 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,199 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. raised its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 6,610 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Lincoln National by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 49,394 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,566,000 after buying an additional 436 shares during the period. 72.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln National Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Lincoln National stock traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $32.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,286,483 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,641,255. Lincoln National Co. has a 12 month low of $27.58 and a 12 month high of $39.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $33.06 and a 200 day moving average of $34.07. The company has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of 1.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.06. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 17.76%. The company had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.56%. Lincoln National's payout ratio is presently 25.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on LNC. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Lincoln National from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $36.82.

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.