VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Purchases Shares of 105,400 Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 105,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,726,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bain Capital Prairie LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $835,360,000. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Lincoln National by 3,440.0% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 7,021,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $248,199,000 after acquiring an additional 6,822,846 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Lincoln National during the 4th quarter valued at $101,114,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Lincoln National in the 2nd quarter worth $63,112,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,755,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $275,304,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522,179 shares during the period. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Lincoln National from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Weiss Ratings raised Lincoln National from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Lincoln National from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lincoln National has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.07.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.28, for a total value of $498,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 119,947 shares in the company, valued at $5,431,200.16. The trade was a 8.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary Kelly sold 15,007 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.50, for a total transaction of $397,685.50. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of LNC opened at $43.56 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $8.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $42.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.14. Lincoln National Corporation has a 52 week low of $32.18 and a 52 week high of $47.67.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 17.35% and a net margin of 12.21%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.36 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 12th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is currently 15.60%.

About Lincoln National

Lincoln National Corporation, doing business as Lincoln Financial Group, is a diversified financial services holding company focused on providing retirement, insurance, and wealth management solutions in the United States and select international markets. Headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, the company operates through several business segments, including Retirement Plan Services, Life Insurance, and Group Protection. Its offerings are designed to help individuals, families, and institutions plan and prepare for their financial futures.

The Retirement Plan Services segment delivers recordkeeping, administrative services, and investment management for defined contribution and defined benefit plans.