Trust Investment Advisors Increases Holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Trust Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,991 shares during the period. Trust Investment Advisors’ holdings in Lincoln National were worth $1,259,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Lincoln National during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $54,189,000. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 190.9% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 741,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,508,000 after acquiring an additional 486,478 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Lincoln National during the fourth quarter valued at $8,155,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 223,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted 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 worth $74,206,000 after purchasing an additional 207,800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LNC has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.40.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LNC opened at $37.68 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $6.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.05, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.76. Lincoln National Co. has a 12 month low of $25.80 and a 12 month high of $39.85. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $36.07 and its 200 day moving average is $33.85.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.04. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 17.76%. Research analysts predict that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.