Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Boosts Position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 22.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 45,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,487 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $1,449,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LNC. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the third quarter worth about $48,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 20.2% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of LNC stock opened at $36.55 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. Lincoln National Co. has a fifty-two week low of $25.80 and a fifty-two week high of $39.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $35.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.64. The company has a market capitalization of $6.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 1.99, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.76.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts expect that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.92%. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is currently 9.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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