Vision Financial Markets LLC Takes Position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $89,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Lincoln National by 95.3% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Lincoln National during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Lincoln National during the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Lincoln National during the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Lincoln National by 459.9% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 1,711 shares during the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln National Stock Up 1.5 %

LNC stock opened at $36.41 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Lincoln National Co. has a fifty-two week low of $25.80 and a fifty-two week high of $39.85. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.36. The stock has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a PE ratio of 1.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.76.

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

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is currently 9.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on LNC shares. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.40.

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.