New Century Financial Group LLC Acquires 32,549 Shares of Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

Key Points

• New Century Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Lincoln National Corporation by 292.4% in Q2, acquiring an additional 32,549 shares, bringing their total holdings to 43,679 shares valued at approximately $1.51 million.
• Lincoln National announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 4.5%, with the dividend payout ratio currently at 31.41%.
• The stock's recent performance shows a market cap of $7.66 billion and a PE ratio of 7.05, reflecting solid fundamentals amidst varying analyst ratings from "Buy" to "Sell".

New Century Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 292.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,679 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 32,549 shares during the quarter. Lincoln National makes up 1.8% of New Century Financial Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. New Century Financial Group LLC's holdings in Lincoln National were worth $1,511,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LNC. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 2.1% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,854,788 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $174,335,000 after acquiring an additional 97,600 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Lincoln National by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,084,433 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $110,753,000 after purchasing an additional 208,114 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Lincoln National by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,566,274 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $92,155,000 after purchasing an additional 146,667 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 84.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,041,928 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $72,039,000 after purchasing an additional 935,225 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Lincoln National by 0.4% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,597,913 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $57,381,000 after buying an additional 5,936 shares in the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Lincoln National stock opened at $40.39 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.66 billion, a PE ratio of 7.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Lincoln National Corporation has a twelve month low of $27.58 and a twelve month high of $43.66.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $4.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.65 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 19.14% and a net margin of 6.34%.During the same period last year, the company earned $1.87 EPS. Research analysts expect that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LNC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lincoln National from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Lincoln National to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Lincoln National to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lincoln National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $39.45.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln National

In other Lincoln National news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was 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 represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Lincoln National

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.

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