HighTower Advisors LLC Buys 6,048 Shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 22.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 32,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,048 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $1,041,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Lincoln National by 95.3% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Lincoln National by 20.2% during 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. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC increased its position in Lincoln National by 121.7% in the 4th quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 2,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 1,275 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE LNC opened at $37.41 on Thursday. Lincoln National Co. has a 12-month low of $25.80 and a 12-month high of $39.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $6.38 billion, a PE ratio of 2.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.76. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.87.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.81%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is 9.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on LNC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays increased their price target on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, February 19th. One 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 data from MarketBeat, Lincoln National currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.40.

About Lincoln National

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.