Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Acquires 193,025 Shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,763,703 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 193,025 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 2.80% of Lincoln National worth $150,104,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LNC. Moran Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the third quarter valued at $2,638,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Lincoln National by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 159,280 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,019,000 after purchasing an additional 4,365 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 43.1% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 7,573 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 2,282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Phillips Financial Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 4.7% during the third quarter. Phillips Financial Management LLC now owns 19,490 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $614,000 after buying an additional 877 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company's stock.

Lincoln National Trading Up 1.5 %

LNC stock traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $35.34. 915,711 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,590,962. The stock's fifty day moving average is $32.92 and its 200-day moving average is $31.87. The company has a market cap of $6.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Lincoln National Co. has a 52-week low of $23.40 and a 52-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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.42. Lincoln National had a net margin of 2.51% and a return on equity of 18.15%. The firm had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.23 EPS. The company's revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lincoln National Co. will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Lincoln National's payout ratio is 128.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

LNC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lincoln National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lincoln National has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.00.

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.