Voya Investment Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Lincoln National Corporation by 17.9%, acquiring an additional 18,364 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 120,743 shares valued at $4.34 million.
• Lincoln National's stock price opened at $41.17 and experienced a 3.4% increase, with a market cap of $7.81 billion and a P/E ratio of 7.18.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, which equates to an annual yield of 4.4%, with the payment date set for November 3rd.

Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 17.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 120,743 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 18,364 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Lincoln National worth $4,336,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LNC. State of Wyoming grew its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 2.7% in the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 11,630 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased its position in Lincoln National by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 7,329 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 18.1% during the 1st quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 2,301 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp lifted its holdings in Lincoln National by 5.9% in 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 during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in Lincoln National by 82.9% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on LNC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Lincoln National from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Cfra Research raised Lincoln National to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. National Bankshares set a $41.00 target price on shares of Lincoln National in a report on Monday, August 18th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lincoln National from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lincoln National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $39.45.

Lincoln National Stock Up 1.1%

LNC stock traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $41.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 112,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,962,303. The company has a market cap of $7.86 billion, a PE ratio of 7.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.48. Lincoln National Corporation has a 12 month low of $27.58 and a 12 month high of $43.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm's 50-day moving average is $39.28 and its 200-day moving average is $35.49.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.87 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.41%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.29, for a total transaction of $196,450.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 123,815 shares in the company, valued at $4,864,691.35. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lincoln National 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.