KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New Investment in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 35,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Lincoln National by 95.3% during 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 stake in shares of Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Lincoln National from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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 assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.40.

Lincoln National Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of Lincoln National stock opened at $35.72 on Monday. Lincoln National Co. has a 52-week low of $25.80 and a 52-week high of $39.85. The stock has a market cap of $6.09 billion, a PE ratio of 1.94, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $36.30 and a 200-day moving average of $34.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.04%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.79%.

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.