Natixis Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 53.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,957 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 16,648 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Lincoln National were worth $1,521,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LNC. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position 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 in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 64,658 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 10,560 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,050,000. Amundi raised its stake in Lincoln National by 92.0% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 119,294 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,747,000 after purchasing an additional 57,152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,075,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Lincoln National from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $37.40.

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Lincoln National Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of LNC stock traded down $1.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $35.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,566,121 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,553,330. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Lincoln National Co. has a one year low of $25.80 and a one year high of $39.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 1.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.76. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $36.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.89.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.04. Lincoln National had a net margin of 17.76% and a return on equity of 18.47%. Equities research analysts expect that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.04%. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.79%.

Lincoln National 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.