Sterling Capital Management LLC Purchases 14,683 Shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 88.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,683 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $990,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in Lincoln National by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 66,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,097,000 after purchasing an additional 1,688 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 4.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,373,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $106,322,000 after buying an additional 152,622 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Lincoln National in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $535,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 89.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 95,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,149,000 after acquiring an additional 45,086 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,309,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,281,000 after acquiring an additional 223,129 shares in the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $42.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Lincoln National from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays upped their target price on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group raised their price target on Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.91.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LNC opened at $30.26 on Wednesday. Lincoln National Co. has a one year low of $25.80 and a one 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 firm has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.56. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $35.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.07.

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

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.