Cerity Partners LLC Has $558,000 Stock Holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 19.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 20,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,386 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $558,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Security Financial Services INC. boosted its holdings in Lincoln National by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Security Financial Services INC. now owns 8,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust boosted its holdings in Lincoln National by 3.9% during the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 12,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Lincoln National by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC raised its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 1.6% in the third quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 34,732 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $858,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 47.0% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 571 shares during the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln National Price Performance

LNC opened at $28.64 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a PE ratio of -5.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.26. Lincoln National Co. has a 52 week low of $18.50 and a 52 week high of $32.43. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $28.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.38.

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

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is presently -36.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Owen Ryan bought 10,000 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.90 per share, with a total value of $259,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $259,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, TheStreet cut shares of Lincoln National from a “c” rating to a “d+” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Two analysts have 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 MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.45.

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.