Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Boosts Stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 301.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,522,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,142,759 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned about 0.89% of Lincoln National worth $48,269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bearing Point Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the 4th quarter worth about $772,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in Lincoln National by 22.1% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 43,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,374,000 after buying an additional 7,850 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC boosted its stake in Lincoln National by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 266,344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,446,000 after buying an additional 65,934 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in Lincoln National by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 9,236 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $293,000 after acquiring an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Lincoln National stock opened at $32.91 on Tuesday. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $27.58 and a 12-month high of $39.85. The company has a market cap of $5.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 1.79, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.42. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.01.

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

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.47%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is presently 9.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $42.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays raised their price objective on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.