Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 594.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 152,727 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 130,727 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned 0.09% of Lincoln National worth $4,843,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. M Holdings Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 807 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LNC has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lincoln National from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Barclays boosted their target price 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. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $36.82.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

LNC stock traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $33.13. 1,556,123 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,639,627. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a PE ratio of 1.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.42. Lincoln National Co. has a 52 week low of $27.58 and a 52 week high of $39.85. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $32.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27.

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

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.43%. Lincoln National's payout ratio is currently 25.57%.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln National

In related news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 43,622 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.78, for a total value of $1,429,929.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 154,102 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,051,463.56. This represents a 22.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 value of $333,482.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 48,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,613,393.30. This represents a 17.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Lincoln National 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.