Lincoln National Corporation $LNC Shares Purchased by Allianz Asset Management GmbH

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management increased its Lincoln National stake by 32.3% in the second quarter to 265,733 shares valued at approximately $9.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 72.81% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but has improved, with several firms raising price targets and seven analysts rating the stock a Buy. The overall consensus is still Hold, with an average target price of $47.07.
• Lincoln National exceeded second-quarter earnings expectations, reporting $2.24 in EPS and $4.93 billion in revenue. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, implying a 4.2% annualized yield, while two insiders recently sold shares.

Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 32.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 265,733 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 64,932 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned about 0.14% of Lincoln National worth $9,394,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bain Capital Prairie LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at $835,360,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Lincoln National by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,755,506 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $275,304,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522,179 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 3,440.0% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 7,021,182 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $248,199,000 after buying an additional 6,822,846 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 0.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,199,526 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $214,504,000 after buying an additional 40,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 3.9% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,823,152 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $135,722,000 after buying an additional 141,994 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on LNC shares. Weiss Ratings raised Lincoln National from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Lincoln National from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Lincoln National from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Barclays upgraded shares of Lincoln National from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $47.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 11,000 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.28, for a total transaction of $498,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 119,947 shares in the company, valued at $5,431,200.16. The trade was a 8.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary Kelly sold 15,007 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.50, for a total value of $397,685.50. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.03% of the company's stock.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LNC opened at $43.33 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $42.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.11. Lincoln National Corporation has a 12 month low of $32.18 and a 12 month high of $47.67.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.28. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 17.35% and a net margin of 12.21%.The firm had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.36 earnings per share. Lincoln National's revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.60%.

Lincoln National Profile

Lincoln National Corporation, doing business as Lincoln Financial Group, is a diversified financial services holding company focused on providing retirement, insurance, and wealth management solutions in the United States and select international markets. Headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, the company operates through several business segments, including Retirement Plan Services, Life Insurance, and Group Protection. Its offerings are designed to help individuals, families, and institutions plan and prepare for their financial futures.

The Retirement Plan Services segment delivers recordkeeping, administrative services, and investment management for defined contribution and defined benefit plans.

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