Swiss National Bank Acquires 2,800 Shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 334,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $10,613,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LNC. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,189,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at $8,155,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 223,129 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 207,800 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake 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 valued at $150,104,000 after purchasing an additional 193,025 shares during the period. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Lincoln National stock opened at $36.62 on Friday. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $25.80 and a 52 week high of $39.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 1.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $35.69 and a 200-day moving average of $33.69.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 17.76%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 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 Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.91%. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is presently 9.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on LNC. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays upped their target price on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Lincoln National from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “in-line” 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.

Lincoln National Company 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.