Vest Financial LLC Makes New $11.38 Million Investment in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Vest Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 316,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $11,379,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of Lincoln National by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,460 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Lincoln National by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. increased its position in shares of Lincoln National by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 6,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Lincoln National by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 49,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,566,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:LNC opened at $33.44 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.82, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Lincoln National Co. has a 12-month low of $27.58 and a 12-month high of $39.85. The business’s 50 day moving average is $32.32 and its 200 day moving average is $33.91.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.06. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 17.76%. The company had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. Lincoln National’s quarterly revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.38%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays lifted their target price on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.82.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 43,622 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.78, for a total transaction of $1,429,929.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 154,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,051,463.56. The trade was a 22.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brian Kroll sold 10,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.10, for a total value of $333,482.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 48,743 shares in the company, valued at $1,613,393.30. This represents a 17.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.51% 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.