Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Given New $41.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has raised its price objective for Lincoln National to $41.00, suggesting a potential upside of 1.93% from the stock's previous close.
• Lincoln National reported $2.36 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.91, despite revenue falling short of expectations.
• Insider activity shows notable selling, with executives Sean Woodroffe and John Christopher Kennedy reducing their holdings, signaling potential concerns among company leadership.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by Morgan Stanley from $38.00 to $41.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "equal weight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price suggests a potential downside of 2.18% from the stock's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Lincoln National in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Lincoln National to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $39.70.

Lincoln National Price Performance

NYSE:LNC traded up $1.2640 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $41.9140. 1,868,723 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,244,095. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.26. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $35.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.90. Lincoln National has a 1 year low of $27.58 and a 1 year high of $42.36. The company has a market cap of $7.95 billion, a PE ratio of 7.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.42.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.45. Lincoln National had a net margin of 6.34% and a return on equity of 19.14%. The firm had revenue of $4.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.65 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.87 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Lincoln National will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 43,622 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 154,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,051,463.56. The trade was a 22.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Brian Kroll sold 10,075 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.10, for a total transaction of $333,482.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 48,743 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,613,393.30. This trade represents a 17.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 58,697 shares of company stock worth $1,959,862. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln National

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its stake in Lincoln National by 383.2% during the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 749 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Lincoln National during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln National during the second quarter valued at $29,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Lincoln National during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in Lincoln National during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company's stock.

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.