Royce & Associates LP Takes Position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Royce & Associates LP purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 37,296 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,175,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OLD National Bancorp IN grew its holdings in 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 valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in Lincoln National by 6.2% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Lincoln National by 13.3% during the 3rd 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 increased its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 1.6% in 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, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 4.4% during the second quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 10,018 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 426 shares during the period. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln National Trading Up 0.1 %

LNC stock traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $34.17. 179,242 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,637,593. The stock's fifty day moving average is $32.58 and its 200-day moving average is $31.75. The company has a market cap of $5.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.32 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 $23.23 and a 52-week high of $36.98.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.61 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 2.51%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.23 EPS. 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 company 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.27%. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio is 128.57%.

Insider Activity at Lincoln National

In related news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 2,863 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were 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 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on LNC. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Lincoln National in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a "hold" rating and a $34.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Barclays upped their target price on Lincoln National from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lincoln National has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.