Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC)

Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors bought 12,425 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 285% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,225 call options.

Insider Activity

In other Lincoln National news, Director Owen Ryan purchased 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.90 per share, for a total transaction of $259,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $259,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.75% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln National

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in Lincoln National by 2,107.9% during the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 4,279,462 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $105,703,000 after buying an additional 4,085,637 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Lincoln National by 249.3% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,420,920 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $135,811,000 after purchasing an additional 3,155,232 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Lincoln National in the fourth quarter worth about $62,691,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,443,719 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $414,674,000 after buying an additional 1,628,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in Lincoln National by 53.4% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,157,195 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $77,951,000 after acquiring an additional 1,098,532 shares during the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on LNC shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Lincoln National from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Lincoln National from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. TheStreet cut Lincoln National from a "c" rating to a "d+" rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.60.

Lincoln National Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:LNC traded up $0.16 on Monday, hitting $30.89. 1,266,956 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,951,971. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $28.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.26 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.81. Lincoln National has a 12 month low of $18.50 and a 12 month high of $32.43.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $1.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.44 billion. Lincoln National had a negative net margin of 6.46% and a positive return on equity of 20.81%. Analysts anticipate that Lincoln National will post 6.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.83%. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -36.07%.

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.