33,118 Shares in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) Acquired by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 33,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,050,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LNC. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $54,189,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,309,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $104,281,000 after acquiring an additional 223,129 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,355,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,206,000 after acquiring an additional 207,800 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Lincoln National by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,763,703 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $150,104,000 after buying an additional 193,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in Lincoln National by 119.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 325,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,237,000 after buying an additional 177,430 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Stock Down 1.5 %

Lincoln National stock opened at $36.13 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 1.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.76. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.72. 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 1-year low of $25.80 and a 1-year high of $39.85.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its earnings results 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%. Sell-side 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 4.98%. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is presently 9.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LNC shares. 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. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.