Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 1,094,789 Shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,688,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,094,789 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 12.78% of Lincoln National worth $584,943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Lincoln National by 3,930.8% during the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,048 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Lincoln National stock opened at $32.28 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.42, a PEG ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 1.85. Lincoln National Co. has a 52-week low of $20.85 and a 52-week high of $33.33. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $30.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.26.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.27. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 19.50% and a net margin of 11.31%. The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.64 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Lincoln National Co. will post 6 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 55,127 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.57, for a total value of $1,795,486.39. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,457,165.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Lincoln National from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lincoln National currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.90.

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.