Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Buys New Shares in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 27,340 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $792,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. OLD National Bancorp IN grew its position in shares of Lincoln National by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 8,415 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $265,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in Lincoln National by 6.2% in the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 6,808 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 13.3% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,502 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 1.6% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 26,341 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $819,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 106.7% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 835 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company's stock.

Lincoln National Stock Up 0.6 %

LNC stock traded up $0.19 during trading on Thursday, reaching $33.10. The stock had a trading volume of 461,358 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,602,193. Lincoln National Co. has a one year low of $24.62 and a one year high of $36.98. The company's 50 day moving average is $33.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.25. 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 company has a market capitalization of $5.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.77.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.61 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 2.51%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.23 earnings per share. Lincoln National's revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Lincoln National Co. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.44%. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 128.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. 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. TD Cowen upped their target price on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lincoln National news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 2,863 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total transaction of $103,068.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,587,184. This represents a 2.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

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.