Kercheville Advisors LLC Purchases New Position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Kercheville Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 6,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln National during the 4th quarter worth approximately $450,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 53.9% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 152,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,846,000 after acquiring an additional 53,300 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 26.5% during the fourth quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,631 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 2,015 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund bought a new position in Lincoln National in the fourth quarter worth approximately $295,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Lincoln National by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 45,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,521 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln National

In other news, EVP Brian Kroll sold 10,075 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.10, for a total value of $333,482.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 48,743 shares in the company, valued at $1,613,393.30. This trade represents a 17.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 43,622 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.78, for a total transaction of $1,429,929.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 154,102 shares in the company, valued at $5,051,463.56. The trade was a 22.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LNC shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lincoln National has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.82.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

NYSE LNC opened at $33.09 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.65 billion, a PE ratio of 1.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. Lincoln National Co. has a 52-week low of $27.58 and a 52-week high of $39.85. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.80.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.06. Lincoln National had a net margin of 17.76% and a return on equity of 18.47%. The company had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. Lincoln National’s quarterly revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.44%. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is presently 25.57%.

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.