Focus Financial Network Inc. Takes $260,000 Position in Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

Focus Financial Network Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $260,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LNC. Hollencrest Capital Management grew its position in shares of Lincoln National by 383.2% during the 1st quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 594 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in shares of Lincoln National by 82.9% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the period. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the 1st quarter valued at about $66,000. Finally, MAI Capital Management lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 18.1% in the 1st quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 2,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 5,000 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.29, for a total value of $196,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 123,815 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,864,691.35. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Stock Up 3.4%

LNC stock opened at $41.17 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $7.81 billion, a PE ratio of 7.18, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $39.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.45. Lincoln National Corporation has a one year low of $27.58 and a one year high of $43.66.

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

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Wolfe Research raised Lincoln National to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. National Bankshares set a $41.00 target price on Lincoln National in a report on Monday, August 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Lincoln National from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.45.

About Lincoln National

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.