Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Purchases Shares of 4,570,678 Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 4,570,678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $142,148,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 2.69% of Lincoln National at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of LNC. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Lincoln National in the fourth quarter valued at $54,026,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 59.2% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,086,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $95,985,000 after purchasing an additional 1,147,896 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Lincoln National by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,688,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $584,943,000 after buying an additional 1,094,789 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Lincoln National during the first quarter worth approximately $28,649,000. Finally, Algebris UK Ltd lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 122.5% in the first quarter. Algebris UK Ltd now owns 861,259 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,582,000 after buying an additional 474,171 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of LNC opened at $30.31 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.15 billion, a PE ratio of 4.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.81. Lincoln National Co. has a 52-week low of $20.85 and a 52-week high of $36.46. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.65 billion. Lincoln National had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 17.13%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Lincoln National Co. will post 5.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on LNC shares. Barclays started coverage on shares of Lincoln National in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Lincoln National from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.64.

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.