Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Price Target Raised to $40.00

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) had its target price lifted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $39.00 to $40.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the financial services provider's stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays upped their target price on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Lincoln National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Lincoln National has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $38.78.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

NYSE LNC traded down $0.17 on Wednesday, reaching $34.08. The stock had a trading volume of 1,463,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,674,857. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.25 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $33.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.93. Lincoln National has a 1-year low of $27.58 and a 1-year high of $39.85. The company has a market cap of $5.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.39.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.06. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 7.00%. The firm had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lincoln National will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.28%. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.57%.

Insider Activity

In other Lincoln National news, EVP Brian Kroll sold 10,075 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.10, for a total value of $333,482.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 48,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,613,393.30. This trade represents a 17.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 43,622 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $5,051,463.56. This represents a 22.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln National

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LNC. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Atria Investments Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the fourth quarter valued at about $249,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,050,000. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in Lincoln National by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 49,394 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,566,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth approximately $8,155,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company's stock.

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.