Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Purchases 470 Shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 74,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $2,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of LNC. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 7.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,309,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $104,281,000 after buying an additional 223,129 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 20,127.5% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 316,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,051,000 after acquiring an additional 315,398 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 64,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 10,560 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,050,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Lincoln National by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 330,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,488,000 after buying an additional 41,533 shares during the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of LNC stock opened at $30.25 on Friday. 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. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $35.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.03. The company has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 1.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.56.

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

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.95%. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is presently 9.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LNC. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Lincoln National from $42.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Lincoln National from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.91.

Lincoln National Company 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.