Advisors Preferred LLC Acquires New Shares in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 140,203 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,830,000. Advisors Preferred LLC owned 0.08% of Lincoln National at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LNC. Highlander Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Lincoln National by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Lincoln National by 2,549.8% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 719,801 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $19,413,000 after acquiring an additional 692,637 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC raised its holdings in Lincoln National by 114.5% in the fourth quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 29,266 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $789,000 after acquiring an additional 15,624 shares in the last quarter. Unison Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Lincoln National by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 60,081 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,620,000 after acquiring an additional 1,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SignalPoint Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Lincoln National by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC now owns 34,900 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $952,000 after acquiring an additional 6,512 shares in the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on LNC. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Lincoln National from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. UBS Group increased 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $29.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Lincoln National from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, TheStreet cut shares of Lincoln National from a "c" rating to a "d+" rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.60.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of LNC stock traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $30.74. The stock had a trading volume of 1,481,156 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,962,348. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.26 and a quick ratio of 0.26. Lincoln National Co. has a twelve month low of $18.50 and a twelve month high of $32.43. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.21 billion, a PE ratio of -6.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.81.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.13. Lincoln National had a negative net margin of 6.46% and a positive return on equity of 20.81%. The business had revenue of $1.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.44 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lincoln National Co. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.86%. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio is presently -36.07%.

Insider Activity at Lincoln National

In related news, Director Owen Ryan bought 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $25.90 per share, for a total transaction of $259,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $259,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.