23,828 Shares in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) Bought by Wealthfront Advisers LLC

Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 23,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $756,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LNC. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in Lincoln National during the third quarter worth $259,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Lincoln National by 12.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 825,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,009,000 after buying an additional 91,197 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC bought a new position in Lincoln National in the 3rd quarter valued at $228,000. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Lincoln National by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 962 shares during the period. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Lincoln National by 54.1% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 3,972 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on LNC shares. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Lincoln National from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.40.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of LNC opened at $36.06 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.76. 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 52-week low of $25.80 and a 52-week high of $39.85.

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

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.99%. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is currently 9.79%.

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.