Quest Partners LLC Buys 2,282 Shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 43.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,282 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $239,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 106.7% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the period. Adirondack Trust Co. bought a new position in Lincoln National in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Lincoln National by 535.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 905 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Lincoln National during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the first quarter valued at about $45,000. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on LNC. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Lincoln National from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. TD Cowen started coverage on Lincoln National in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $34.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Lincoln National from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.00.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LNC opened at $35.37 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Lincoln National Co. has a 12 month low of $23.40 and a 12 month high of $36.98. The company has a market capitalization of $6.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.26, a PEG ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.79. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $33.04 and its 200 day moving average is $31.91.

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

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 128.57%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 2,863 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total value of $103,068.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,587,184. The trade was a 2.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

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.