Toronto Dominion Bank Purchases 21,600 Shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 64.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 21,600 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank's holdings in Lincoln National were worth $1,744,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M Holdings Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Lincoln National during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in Lincoln National during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln National during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Lincoln National during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lifted its position in Lincoln National by 182.2% during the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,250 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lincoln National news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 43,622 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.78, for a total transaction of $1,429,929.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 154,102 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,051,463.56. This represents a 22.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Lincoln National Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE LNC traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $32.95. 275,259 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,633,137. The company's 50-day moving average is $32.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.02. Lincoln National Co. has a one year low of $27.58 and a one year high of $39.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $5.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.42.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.06. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 17.76%. The business had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. Lincoln National's revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on LNC shares. Barclays upped their price target on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Lincoln National from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lincoln National has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $36.82.

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.