Virtu Financial LLC Purchases 10,986 Shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC)

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC increased its stake in Lincoln National Corporation by 57.5%, owning 30,096 shares valued at over $1 million as of the latest reporting period.
• Insiders at Lincoln National recently sold approximately 58,697 shares of company stock valued at nearly $1.96 million, with notable transactions by executives John Christopher Kennedy and Sean Woodroffe.
• Equities analysts have adjusted their ratings and target prices for Lincoln National, with a current consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $39.22.

Virtu Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 57.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,096 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 10,986 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC's holdings in Lincoln National were worth $1,081,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft grew its holdings in Lincoln National by 4.7% during the first quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 7,329 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp grew its holdings in Lincoln National by 5.9% during the first quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 7,154 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in Lincoln National by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 74,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,372,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in Lincoln National by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 9,236 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Lincoln National by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 11,720 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln National

In other news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 43,622 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.78, for a total value of $1,429,929.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 154,102 shares in the company, valued at $5,051,463.56. The trade was a 22.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.29, for a total value of $196,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 123,815 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,864,691.35. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 58,697 shares of company stock worth $1,959,862. 0.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lincoln National Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of LNC stock traded down $0.42 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $40.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,061,628 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,977,379. The company has a current ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Lincoln National Corporation has a one year low of $27.58 and a one year high of $41.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.42. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $35.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.64.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.45. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 19.14% and a net margin of 6.34%. The firm had revenue of $4.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.87 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. Lincoln National's payout ratio is 31.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LNC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. 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. Barclays raised their price target on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded Lincoln National to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $39.22.

About Lincoln National

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.