9,877 Shares in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) Purchased by NorthRock Partners LLC

NorthRock Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 9,877 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $313,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LNC. M Holdings Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its position in shares of Lincoln National by 182.2% in the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,250 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 807 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on LNC shares. UBS Group increased their target price on Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Lincoln National from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $36.82.

Lincoln National Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE LNC traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $32.37. 1,286,483 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,641,255. Lincoln National Co. has a 52-week low of $27.58 and a 52-week high of $39.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of 1.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The business's fifty day moving average price is $33.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.07.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.06. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 17.76%. The business had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.56%. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.57%.

Lincoln National 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.