American Century Companies Inc. Purchases 131,566 Shares of Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Lincoln National Corporation by 271.2%, owning 180,079 shares worth approximately $6.47 million as of its most recent filing.
• Lincoln National reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.36, surpassing estimates by $0.45, despite a revenue shortfall compared to analysts' expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 4.2%, with the ex-dividend date set for October 10th.

American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 271.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 180,079 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 131,566 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.11% of Lincoln National worth $6,467,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft grew its position in shares of Lincoln National by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 7,329 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp boosted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 7,154 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 9,236 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 383.2% during the 1st quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 749 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 5,000 shares of Lincoln National 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 123,815 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,864,691.35. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on LNC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Lincoln National to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. National Bankshares set a $41.00 target price on shares of Lincoln National in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $39.70.

Lincoln National Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:LNC traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $42.93. 1,414,452 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,779,095. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.49, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.48. The business's fifty day moving average price is $36.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.05. 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 Corporation has a twelve month low of $27.58 and a twelve month high of $43.12.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $4.04 billion for 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 in the previous year, the business earned $1.87 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Lincoln National's payout ratio is 31.41%.

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.