Headlands Technologies LLC Takes Position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 6,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $171,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNC. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in Lincoln National by 787.2% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 4,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 3,936 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln National during the third quarter worth approximately $337,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of Lincoln National by 4.2% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 145,591 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,595,000 after buying an additional 5,898 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Lincoln National by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 70,926 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,751,000 after acquiring an additional 5,125 shares during the period. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Owen Ryan purchased 10,000 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.90 per share, for a total transaction of $259,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $259,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on LNC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $29.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com raised Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Lincoln National from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.45.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of LNC stock opened at $27.81 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.26 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.46. Lincoln National Co. has a 12-month low of $18.50 and a 12-month high of $32.43.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. Lincoln National had a positive return on equity of 20.81% and a negative net margin of 6.46%. Equities research analysts expect that Lincoln National Co. will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is currently -36.07%.

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.