VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Acquires Shares of 82,600 Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems acquired 82,600 shares of Lincoln National Corporation valued at approximately $2.86 million, reflecting growing interest from institutional investors.
• Lincoln National recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, which represents an annualized yield of 4.6% and a payout ratio of 31.41%.
• The company's second-quarter earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $2.36 EPS, beating analysts' consensus estimate of $1.91.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 82,600 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,858,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 32.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,838 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $317,000 after buying an additional 2,142 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Lincoln National by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 31,437 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,129,000 after purchasing an additional 1,770 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC lifted its position in Lincoln National by 21.0% in the 1st quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 8,887 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,541 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 38.3% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 24,445 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $878,000 after acquiring an additional 6,773 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 14.7% during the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 48,356 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,736,000 after acquiring an additional 6,199 shares during the period. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln National Price Performance

NYSE LNC opened at $39.02 on Tuesday. 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 market capitalization of $7.40 billion, a PE ratio of 6.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $40.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.06. Lincoln National Corporation has a 12-month low of $27.58 and a 12-month high of $43.66.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. Lincoln National had a net margin of 6.34% and a return on equity of 19.14%. The firm had revenue of $4.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Lincoln National's payout ratio is 31.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln National

In other news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 5,000 shares of the company'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 owned 123,815 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,864,691.35. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LNC. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Lincoln National in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Lincoln National to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $43.09.

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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