Atria Investments Inc Purchases New Stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Atria Investments Inc acquired a new position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNC. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 95.3% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the 4th quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Lincoln National by 20.2% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of LNC opened at $36.55 on Wednesday. Lincoln National Co. has a 12-month low of $25.80 and a 12-month high of $39.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a PE ratio of 1.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $35.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.64.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.04. Lincoln National had a net margin of 17.76% and a return on equity of 18.47%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.92%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Lincoln National from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.40.

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.