Bank of Montreal Can Raises Stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 119.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 325,808 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 177,430 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.19% of Lincoln National worth $10,237,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LNC. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Lincoln National by 4.2% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,763,703 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $150,104,000 after buying an additional 193,025 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Lincoln National by 14.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,828,513 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $87,970,000 after buying an additional 348,601 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 1.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,249,725 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $69,966,000 after purchasing an additional 31,235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 49.5% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,150,863 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $66,892,000 after purchasing an additional 711,951 shares during the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of LNC stock traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $35.30. 193,303 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,615,224. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $6.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $33.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $32.08. Lincoln National Co. has a fifty-two week low of $23.68 and a fifty-two week high of $36.98.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.42. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 2.51%. The firm had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.23 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lincoln National Co. will post 6.53 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio is currently 128.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on LNC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Lincoln National from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.25.

Insider Activity at Lincoln National

In other Lincoln National news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 2,863 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total value of $103,068.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,644 shares in the company, valued at $3,587,184. This represents a 2.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.