Virtu Financial LLC Has $606,000 Holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Virtu Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 47.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,114 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth approximately $54,189,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Lincoln National during the 4th quarter worth $8,155,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Lincoln National by 7.2% in the 3rd 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. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,355,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,206,000 after buying an additional 207,800 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Lincoln National by 119.6% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 325,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,237,000 after acquiring an additional 177,430 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LNC opened at $37.68 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $36.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.85. Lincoln National Co. has a 1-year low of $25.80 and a 1-year high of $39.85. The firm has a market cap of $6.42 billion, a PE ratio of 2.05, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 predict that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is 9.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on LNC. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. 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. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.40.

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.