Alliancebernstein L.P. Grows Stock Position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 24.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 215,871 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 42,822 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.13% of Lincoln National worth $6,845,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the 4th quarter valued at $76,951,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Lincoln National in the fourth quarter valued at about $54,189,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Lincoln National by 84.9% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,543,624 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $48,948,000 after purchasing an additional 708,584 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 190.9% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 741,330 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $23,508,000 after purchasing an additional 486,478 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the 4th quarter valued at about $8,155,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company's stock.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of LNC stock traded up $0.41 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $30.44. The stock had a trading volume of 299,550 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,615,380. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $35.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.04. Lincoln National Co. has a one year low of $25.80 and a one year high of $39.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.66, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.04. Lincoln National had a net margin of 17.76% and a return on equity of 18.47%. Equities analysts forecast that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Lincoln National's payout ratio is 9.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on LNC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Lincoln National from $42.00 to $32.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $35.91.

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.