First Trust Advisors LP Has $39.91 Million Position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 53.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,258,512 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 436,462 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.74% of Lincoln National worth $39,907,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of LNC. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth $76,951,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter worth $54,189,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Lincoln National by 84.9% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,543,624 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $48,948,000 after purchasing an additional 708,584 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 190.9% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 741,330 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $23,508,000 after purchasing an additional 486,478 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 20,127.5% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 316,965 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,051,000 after purchasing an additional 315,398 shares in the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of LNC stock traded down $0.18 during trading on Friday, reaching $31.73. 1,122,610 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,624,202. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $34.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.05. Lincoln National Co. has a twelve month low of $25.80 and a twelve month high of $39.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.42 billion, a PE ratio of 1.73, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

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

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.67%. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on LNC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Lincoln National from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $42.00 to $32.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $35.91.

About Lincoln National

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.