Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Grows Position in Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) by 1.3% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,916,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 61,873 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $170,116,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LNC. Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 1.6% during the second quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 550,493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,047,000 after buying an additional 8,901 shares during the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey lifted its position in Lincoln National by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 50,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,737,000 after acquiring an additional 3,520 shares during the period. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in Lincoln National during the 2nd quarter worth about $750,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in Lincoln National by 61.9% during the 2nd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 260,653 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,019,000 after purchasing an additional 99,671 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 18.1% in the second quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 19,634 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $679,000 after purchasing an additional 3,014 shares during the period. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

NYSE LNC opened at $41.05 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.16, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $40.41 and a 200 day moving average of $37.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Lincoln National Corporation has a twelve month low of $27.58 and a twelve month high of $43.66.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.20. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 19.14% and a net margin of 6.34%.The business had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.06 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.16%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Owen Ryan bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $42.17 per share, with a total value of $84,340.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 12,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $506,040. This trade represents a 20.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LNC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research raised Lincoln National to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Lincoln National in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, National Bankshares set a $44.00 target price on shares of Lincoln National in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.82.

Lincoln National 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.