Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys 10,018 Shares of Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. has increased its stake in Lincoln National Corporation to 267,204 shares, having purchased an additional 10,018 shares, reflecting a 3.9% rise in holdings.
• Analysts have set a mixed outlook for Lincoln National, with a consensus target price of $39.70 and ratings ranging from Buy to Sell, indicating a generally cautious sentiment.
• Lincoln National recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45, contributing to an annualized yield of 4.2% on the stock.

Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 267,204 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 10,018 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Lincoln National worth $9,595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Lincoln National by 301.2% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,522,195 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $48,269,000 after purchasing an additional 1,142,759 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Lincoln National by 1,818.4% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 661,972 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $23,771,000 after purchasing an additional 627,466 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Lincoln National by 141.2% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 673,095 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $24,171,000 after purchasing an additional 394,028 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln National during the first quarter valued at about $12,645,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln National during the first quarter valued at about $11,379,000. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company's stock.

Lincoln National Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:LNC traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $43.22. 567,939 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,940,480. Lincoln National Corporation has a 12-month low of $27.58 and a 12-month high of $43.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.54, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.26 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $37.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.19.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $4.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $1.87 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Lincoln National's payout ratio is presently 31.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LNC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lincoln National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a "positive" rating on shares of Lincoln National in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Cfra Research upgraded Lincoln National to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $39.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lincoln National news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 5,000 shares of Lincoln National 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 123,815 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,864,691.35. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

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.