Versant Capital Management Inc Grows Holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 20.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 354 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $67,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNC. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Lincoln National by 67.1% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Lincoln National by 155.9% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 58,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,807,000 after buying an additional 35,400 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Lincoln National by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 45,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,435,000 after acquiring an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 734,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,834,000 after acquiring an additional 15,495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of Lincoln National by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 47,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,477,000 after acquiring an additional 873 shares in the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 2,863 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,644 shares in the company, valued at $3,587,184. The trade was a 2.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of LNC opened at $32.37 on Monday. Lincoln National Co. has a one year low of $25.09 and a one year high of $36.98. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $33.67 and its 200-day moving average is $32.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.78.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.61 billion. Lincoln National had a net margin of 2.51% and a return on equity of 18.15%. Lincoln National’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.23 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.03 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is currently 128.57%.

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.