52,922 Shares in Lincoln National Corporation $LNC Acquired by Strs Ohio

Key Points

• Strs Ohio acquired approximately 52,922 shares of Lincoln National Corporation, valued at about $1.9 million, during the first quarter.
• Lincoln National Corporation announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, with a payout ratio of 31.41% and an annualized yield of 4.6%.
• The company's shares are currently rated with a consensus of "Reduce" and have a target price averaging $39.45, following mixed ratings from various analysts.

Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 52,922 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,900,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LNC. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new position in Lincoln National in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $445,000. Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 11,720 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 18,466.7% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,899 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 3,878 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 54,990 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,744,000 after acquiring an additional 8,165 shares during the period. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 64.7% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 55,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,744,000 after acquiring an additional 21,600 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on LNC shares. Wall Street Zen raised Lincoln National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. National Bankshares set a $41.00 target price on Lincoln National in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Lincoln National from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Lincoln National in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lincoln National from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln National

In other Lincoln National news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.29, for a total value of $196,450.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

LNC stock traded up $1.37 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $41.17. The company had a trading volume of 5,562,094 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,759,337. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $39.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.46. Lincoln National Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $27.58 and a fifty-two week high of $43.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.81 billion, a PE ratio of 7.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.48.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $4.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the company earned $1.87 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio is 31.41%.

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.