Meeder Asset Management Inc. Invests $48,000 in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 1,512 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $48,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LNC. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the 2nd quarter worth $142,148,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Lincoln National by 59.2% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,086,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $95,985,000 after buying an additional 1,147,896 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Lincoln National by 3,488.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 966,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,669,000 after buying an additional 939,447 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Lincoln National by 49.5% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,150,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,892,000 after buying an additional 711,951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Algebris UK Ltd grew its stake in Lincoln National by 122.5% in the 1st quarter. Algebris UK Ltd now owns 861,259 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,582,000 after buying an additional 474,171 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

NYSE:LNC opened at $34.26 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.84 billion, a PE ratio of 24.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. Lincoln National Co. has a fifty-two week low of $23.23 and a fifty-two week high of $36.98.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.61 billion. Lincoln National had a net margin of 2.51% and a return on equity of 18.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.23 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Lincoln National Co. will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 128.57%.

Insider Activity at Lincoln National

In other Lincoln National news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 2,863 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total transaction of $103,068.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,587,184. This trade represents a 2.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on LNC shares. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.00.

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.