Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Has $303,000 Stock Holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its position in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,143 shares during the period. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Lincoln National by 7.2% during the third 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 period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Lincoln National by 19.5% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 64,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,050,000 after buying an additional 10,560 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,050,000. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 92.0% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 119,294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,747,000 after buying an additional 57,152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,075,000. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Lincoln National stock opened at $35.93 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 1.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $36.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.06. Lincoln National Co. has a 52-week low of $25.80 and a 52-week 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.

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

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. 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 5.01%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on LNC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of 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 price target on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. 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 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 note on Wednesday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.