MQS Management LLC Buys New Stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 7,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $228,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LNC. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in Lincoln National in the 2nd quarter valued at $142,148,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Lincoln National by 59.2% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,086,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $95,985,000 after purchasing an additional 1,147,896 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lincoln National by 3,488.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 966,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,669,000 after purchasing an additional 939,447 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Lincoln National in the 1st quarter valued at $28,649,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lincoln National by 49.5% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,150,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,892,000 after purchasing an additional 711,951 shares during the period. 72.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln National

In other news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 2,863 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total transaction of $103,068.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 99,644 shares in the company, valued at $3,587,184. The trade was a 2.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Lincoln National stock opened at $35.35 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.59. Lincoln National Co. has a 12-month low of $23.14 and a 12-month high of $36.98.

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

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Lincoln National in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $34.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.00.

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.