JPMorgan Chase & Co. Buys 41,533 Shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 14.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 330,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 41,533 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.19% of Lincoln National worth $10,488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $2,097,000 after purchasing an additional 1,688 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Lincoln National by 4.7% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the third quarter valued at about $535,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position 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 buying an additional 45,086 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 7.2% in 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 in the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln National Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE LNC opened at $29.97 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $35.78 and its 200 day moving average is $34.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a PE ratio of 1.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.56. Lincoln National Co. has a twelve month low of $25.80 and a twelve month high of $39.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

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

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.01%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on LNC shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.91.

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.