Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Boosts Stock Position in Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) by 157.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 524,643 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 320,712 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned 0.28% of Lincoln National worth $23,614,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Phillips Financial Management LLC boosted its stake in Lincoln National by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Phillips Financial Management LLC now owns 21,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $881,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 3.2% during the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 8,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 3.3% in the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 8,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $362,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 1.7% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 17,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $723,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. increased its position in Lincoln National by 4.0% during the third quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 7,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on LNC shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. National Bank Financial set a $45.00 price objective on Lincoln National in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $43.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Lincoln National from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $41.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.38.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln National

In other Lincoln National news, EVP James Waltman Reid sold 3,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.81, for a total transaction of $127,520.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 118,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,957,286.27. This represents a 2.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder National Life Insuranc Lincoln acquired 2,254,486 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $11.09 per share, for a total transaction of $25,002,249.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,784,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $108,508,130.98. The trade was a 29.94% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 21,050 shares of company stock worth $734,041. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Lincoln National stock opened at $34.86 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $36.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $6.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.23. Lincoln National Corporation has a 52 week low of $27.58 and a 52 week high of $46.82.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $4.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.85 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.52% and a net margin of 6.46%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.91 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is currently 33.90%.

About Lincoln National

Lincoln National Corporation, doing business as Lincoln Financial Group, is a diversified financial services holding company focused on providing retirement, insurance, and wealth management solutions in the United States and select international markets. Headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, the company operates through several business segments, including Retirement Plan Services, Life Insurance, and Group Protection. Its offerings are designed to help individuals, families, and institutions plan and prepare for their financial futures.

The Retirement Plan Services segment delivers recordkeeping, administrative services, and investment management for defined contribution and defined benefit plans.