AlphaQuest LLC Purchases 20,224 Shares of Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in Lincoln National Corporation by 92.6% during Q1, owning 42,053 shares valued at $1.51 million.
• Lincoln National reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.36 for the last quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.91, along with a revenue of $4.04 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, representing a yearly dividend yield of 4.3%.

AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 92.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,053 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 20,224 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Lincoln National were worth $1,510,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft grew its position in shares of Lincoln National by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 7,329 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the period. SYM FINANCIAL Corp raised its position in shares of Lincoln National by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 7,154 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Lincoln National by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 9,236 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its position in Lincoln National by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 11,720 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in Lincoln National by 82.9% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on LNC. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Lincoln National in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Barclays boosted their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. National Bankshares set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Lincoln National in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lincoln National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $39.70.

Lincoln National Stock Up 0.4%

LNC traded up $0.18 during trading on Thursday, hitting $42.61. 400,092 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,945,822. Lincoln National Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $27.58 and a fifty-two week high of $42.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The business's 50 day moving average is $36.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.04. The stock has a market cap of $8.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.44, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.42.

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

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Lincoln National

In other news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 5,000 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.29, for a total value of $196,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 123,815 shares in the company, valued at $4,864,691.35. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

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.