Scientech Research LLC Makes New $791,000 Investment in Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

Key Points

• Scientech Research LLC has acquired a new stake in Lincoln National Corporation, purchasing 22,018 shares valued at approximately $791,000.
• Lincoln National's stock reported a 0.7% decline to open at $41.81, while the company showed solid profits with an EPS of $2.36 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45, representing a 4.3% yield, with the ex-dividend date set for October 10th.

Scientech Research LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 22,018 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $791,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LNC. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $72,039,000 after acquiring an additional 935,225 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 206.6% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,176,613 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,252,000 after acquiring an additional 792,907 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted 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 worth $23,771,000 after purchasing an additional 627,466 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted 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 worth $24,171,000 after purchasing an additional 394,028 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln National during the first quarter worth about $12,645,000. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on LNC shares. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Lincoln National in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. National Bankshares set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Lincoln National in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Cfra Research raised Lincoln National to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $39.70.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln National

In related news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.29, for a total value of $196,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 123,815 shares in the company, valued at $4,864,691.35. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of LNC stock traded up $0.01 on Friday, reaching $42.16. The company had a trading volume of 1,399,610 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,567,426. The business's 50-day moving average is $38.57 and its 200 day moving average is $35.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.99 billion, a PE ratio of 7.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.48. Lincoln National Corporation has a one year low of $27.58 and a one year high of $43.66. 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 (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $4.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.65 billion. Lincoln National had a net margin of 6.34% and a return on equity of 19.14%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.87 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.41%.

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.