Vest Financial LLC Grows Position in Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC has increased its position in Lincoln National Corporation by 11.5% during Q2, now owning approximately 353,362 shares valued at $12.2 million.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed sentiments, with target prices ranging from $38.00 to $53.00, leading to a consensus rating of "Reduce" for Lincoln National's stock.
• Lincoln National announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 4.6%.

Vest Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 11.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 353,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 36,492 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC owned about 0.21% of Lincoln National worth $12,226,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 69,080 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,390,000 after purchasing an additional 757 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 43,286 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,498,000 after purchasing an additional 1,336 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 39.1% in the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,089 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 5,085 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 11,908 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allen Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC now owns 59,594 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,062,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on LNC. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Lincoln National from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Lincoln National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a 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 report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Lincoln National from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $43.09.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln National

In related news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 5,000 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of LNC stock opened at $39.26 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $40.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.90. The stock has a market cap of $7.44 billion, a PE ratio of 6.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.43. Lincoln National Corporation has a 1 year low of $27.58 and a 1 year high of $43.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.26.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $4.04 billion during 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 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. Lincoln National's payout ratio is currently 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.

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