Woodline Partners LP Takes $5.96 Million Position in Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

Key Points

• Woodline Partners LP has acquired a new position in Lincoln National Corporation worth approximately $5.96 million by purchasing 166,041 shares in the first quarter.
• Lincoln National's quarterly earnings exceeded analysts' expectations, reporting $2.36 EPS, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.91.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 4.3%, with the ex-dividend date set for October 10th.

Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 166,041 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,963,000. Woodline Partners LP owned about 0.10% of Lincoln National at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Lincoln National by 22.2% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 184,957 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,642,000 after acquiring an additional 33,644 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 34.1% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 204,010 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,346,000 after purchasing an additional 51,823 shares during the period. Integrated Advisors Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the 1st quarter worth about $293,000. DMC Group LLC increased its position in shares of Lincoln National by 47.1% during the 1st quarter. DMC Group LLC now owns 25,749 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $925,000 after purchasing an additional 8,250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smith Salley Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Lincoln National in the 1st quarter valued at about $268,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Lincoln National

In other Lincoln National 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 value of $196,450.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Lincoln National Trading Up 0.0%

LNC opened at $42.16 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $38.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.26 and a quick ratio of 0.26. Lincoln National Corporation has a 12 month low of $27.58 and a 12 month high of $43.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.36, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.48.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.45. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 19.14% and a net margin of 6.34%.The company had revenue of $4.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.87 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Lincoln National's payout ratio is 31.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Lincoln National to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. National Bankshares set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Lincoln National in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen raised Lincoln National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $39.70.

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.

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