M Holdings Securities Inc. Acquires New Stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

M Holdings Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $29,000.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays increased their target price on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lincoln National presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.40.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LNC opened at $36.13 on Friday. Lincoln National Co. has a 1 year low of $25.80 and a 1 year high of $39.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company’s 50-day moving average is $35.81 and its 200 day moving average is $33.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 1.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.76.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share 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 year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. 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.