Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. Raises Stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 30.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 350 shares during the quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $48,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Virtu Financial LLC grew its stake in Lincoln National by 47.0% during the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 19,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $606,000 after acquiring an additional 6,114 shares in the last quarter. Sciencast Management LP grew its position in shares of Lincoln National by 92.8% during the 4th quarter. Sciencast Management LP now owns 71,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,256,000 after purchasing an additional 34,236 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the fourth quarter worth $249,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in shares of Lincoln National by 84.2% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 41,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,304,000 after buying an additional 18,796 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Lincoln National during the fourth quarter valued at $173,000. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on LNC shares. TD Cowen raised their price target on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.40.

Lincoln National Stock Up 4.1 %

Shares of NYSE:LNC opened at $37.38 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.76. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $35.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Lincoln National Co. has a 12-month low of $25.80 and a 12-month high of $39.85.

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

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.82%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.79%.

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.