Vinva Investment Management Ltd Takes Position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 5,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $173,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Lincoln National by 7.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,309,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,281,000 after buying an additional 223,129 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in 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 worth $2,050,000 after buying an additional 10,560 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,050,000. Amundi grew its position in Lincoln National by 92.0% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 119,294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,747,000 after buying an additional 57,152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,075,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LNC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Lincoln National from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.40.

Lincoln National Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of LNC opened at $36.13 on Friday. Lincoln National Co. has a 52 week low of $25.80 and a 52 week high of $39.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.97, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $35.81 and a 200-day moving average of $33.72.

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

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.98%. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is 9.79%.

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.