Public Sector Pension Investment Board Boosts Position in Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC)

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Lincoln National Corporation by 27.3%, acquiring an additional 115,771 shares to reach a total of 540,179 shares valued at approximately $19.4 million.
• Lincoln National reported earnings of $2.36 per share, exceeding estimates of $1.91, along with a quarterly revenue of $4.04 billion, which was below the expected $4.65 billion.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 4.7%.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 27.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 540,179 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 115,771 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned about 0.32% of Lincoln National worth $19,398,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of LNC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Lincoln National by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 330,755 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,488,000 after buying an additional 41,533 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Lincoln National during the 4th quarter worth $8,155,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in Lincoln National by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 74,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,372,000 after buying an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in Lincoln National by 88.7% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 31,232 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $990,000 after buying an additional 14,683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC raised its position in Lincoln National by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 28,934 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $917,000 after buying an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 43,622 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.78, for a total transaction of $1,429,929.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 154,102 shares in the company, valued at $5,051,463.56. This represents a 22.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.29, for a total transaction of $196,450.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 123,815 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,864,691.35. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 58,697 shares of company stock valued at $1,959,862 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Lincoln National Price Performance

NYSE LNC traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $40.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,620,939 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,285,030. The stock has a market cap of $7.68 billion, a PE ratio of 7.07, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.42. Lincoln National Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $27.58 and a fifty-two week high of $41.09. The company's 50-day moving average is $35.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.69. 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 (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.45. Lincoln National had a net margin of 6.34% and a return on equity of 19.14%. The firm had revenue of $4.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.87 EPS. Analysts forecast that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on LNC. Wells Fargo & Company restated a "positive" rating on shares of Lincoln National in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of Lincoln National to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $39.22.

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.