Smith Salley Wealth Management Invests $268,000 in Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC)

Smith Salley Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 7,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $268,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in LNC. Altus Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Lincoln National by 25.8% in the first quarter. Altus Wealth Group LLC now owns 17,122 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $615,000 after buying an additional 3,512 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 34.1% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 204,010 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,346,000 after acquiring an additional 51,823 shares during the last quarter. TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $247,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $232,000. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 1,370.7% during the 1st quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 150,201 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,394,000 after purchasing an additional 139,988 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on LNC shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Lincoln National from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $36.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lincoln National 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 value of $1,429,929.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 154,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,051,463.56. This trade represents a 22.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian Kroll sold 10,075 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.10, for a total transaction of $333,482.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 48,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,613,393.30. This represents a 17.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lincoln National Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Lincoln National stock traded up $0.10 on Wednesday, reaching $34.97. 1,935,463 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,659,747. The company has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.40. Lincoln National Corporation has a 52 week low of $27.58 and a 52 week high of $39.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.25. The firm's 50-day moving average is $33.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.78.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. Lincoln National had a net margin of 7.00% and a return on equity of 18.71%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.57%.

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.