Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Price Target Raised to $41.00 at Morgan Stanley

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) had its price objective increased by Morgan Stanley from $38.00 to $41.00 in a research note published on Monday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Barclays lifted their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Cfra Research raised shares of Lincoln National to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lincoln National has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.70.

Lincoln National Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE LNC opened at $40.17 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.26 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $7.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.01, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.42. Lincoln National has a 1 year low of $27.58 and a 1 year high of $41.08. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.71.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $4.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.65 billion. Lincoln National had a net margin of 6.34% and a return on equity of 19.14%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.87 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Lincoln National will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is 31.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Brian Kroll sold 10,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.10, for a total transaction of $333,482.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 48,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,613,393.30. This represents a 17.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 43,622 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.78, for a total value of $1,429,929.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 154,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold 58,697 shares of company stock valued at $1,959,862 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln National

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its position in shares of Lincoln National by 383.2% during the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the second quarter valued at $29,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. 72.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.