Unison Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Unison Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 865 shares during the period. Unison Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $2,036,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at about $76,951,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Lincoln National in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,189,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 708,584 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in Lincoln National by 190.9% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 741,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,508,000 after acquiring an additional 486,478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Lincoln National by 20,127.5% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 316,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,051,000 after purchasing an additional 315,398 shares during the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln National Stock Down 10.6 %

Shares of NYSE:LNC opened at $33.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 1.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.55. Lincoln National Co. has a 1-year low of $25.80 and a 1-year high of $39.85. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $36.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.12.

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

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.40%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.45.

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.