Raymond James & Associates Raises Stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 2.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 159,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,005 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned approximately 0.09% of Lincoln National worth $5,038,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Lincoln National in the first quarter worth $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 106.7% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 535.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 249.4% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 873 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Trading Down 3.5 %

Lincoln National stock opened at $33.52 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.94, a PEG ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Lincoln National Co. has a 1 year low of $20.85 and a 1 year high of $36.46. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $31.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.09.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.42. Lincoln National had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 17.13%. The firm had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Lincoln National Co. will post 5.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.37%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 128.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on LNC shares. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Lincoln National from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.00.

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.