Profund Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 17,399 Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

Profund Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 17,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $775,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNC. Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Lincoln National in the first quarter valued at about $241,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Lincoln National by 30.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 71,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,585,000 after purchasing an additional 16,991 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Lincoln National by 316.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 59,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,123,000 after purchasing an additional 44,936 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Lincoln National by 5.0% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 623,322 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,383,000 after purchasing an additional 29,421 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in Lincoln National by 39.1% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 19,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $701,000 after purchasing an additional 5,486 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LNC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, National Bank Financial set a $40.00 target price on shares of Lincoln National in a report on Thursday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.74, for a total transaction of $261,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 198,159 shares in the company, valued at $6,487,725.66. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder National Life Insuranc Lincoln acquired 2,254,486 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $11.09 per share, for a total transaction of $25,002,249.74. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 9,784,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $108,508,130.98. This trade represents a 29.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.03% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:LNC opened at $35.99 on Friday. Lincoln National Corporation has a 12 month low of $31.61 and a 12 month high of $46.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.15. The firm has a market cap of $6.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.18, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.20.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.08. Lincoln National had a net margin of 9.17% and a return on equity of 18.07%. The business had revenue of $4.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.60 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Profile

Lincoln National Corporation, doing business as Lincoln Financial Group, is a diversified financial services holding company focused on providing retirement, insurance, and wealth management solutions in the United States and select international markets. Headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, the company operates through several business segments, including Retirement Plan Services, Life Insurance, and Group Protection. Its offerings are designed to help individuals, families, and institutions plan and prepare for their financial futures.

The Retirement Plan Services segment delivers recordkeeping, administrative services, and investment management for defined contribution and defined benefit plans.