Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Purchases 33,808 Shares of Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its stake in Lincoln National by 38.4%, buying 33,808 shares to hold 121,806 shares worth about $5.42 million (roughly 0.06% of the company) at quarter-end.
• Lincoln National beat Q4 expectations with EPS of $2.21 versus $1.86 and revenue of $4.89 billion; the company pays a $0.45 quarterly dividend (a 4.8% yield) and trades at a P/E of 7.07 with a $7.18 billion market cap.
• Several analysts have trimmed price targets recently and, per MarketBeat data, the stock carries a consensus "Hold" rating with a target price of $43.79.

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its position in Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 38.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 121,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 33,808 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned about 0.06% of Lincoln National worth $5,424,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 61.8% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,024 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the period. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln National Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE LNC opened at $37.54 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Lincoln National Corporation has a 52 week low of $31.61 and a 52 week high of $46.82. The firm's fifty day moving average is $35.28 and its 200 day moving average is $39.55. The company has a market cap of $7.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.07, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.35. Lincoln National had a net margin of 6.46% and a return on equity of 18.52%. The company had revenue of $4.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.91 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 10th. Lincoln National's payout ratio is presently 33.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on LNC shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Lincoln National in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $43.00 to $37.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $43.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 10,000 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.46, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 206,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,104,239.14. The trade was a 4.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder National Life Insuranc Lincoln bought 2,254,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $11.09 per share, for a total transaction of $25,002,249.74. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 9,784,322 shares of the company's stock, valued at $108,508,130.98. This trade represents a 29.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 21,050 shares of company stock valued at $734,041 over the last three months. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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