Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 152,622 Shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 4.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,373,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 152,622 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 1.98% of Lincoln National worth $106,322,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LNC. Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in Lincoln National by 106.7% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Lincoln National by 535.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Lincoln National by 95.3% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Lincoln National during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Lincoln National in the third quarter worth $48,000. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln National Stock Down 5.9 %

NYSE:LNC opened at $30.55 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $5.20 billion, a PE ratio of 21.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a 50-day moving average of $33.97 and a 200 day moving average of $32.24. Lincoln National Co. has a 1-year low of $25.09 and a 1-year high of $36.98.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.61 billion. Lincoln National had a net margin of 2.51% and a return on equity of 18.15%. The company’s revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.23 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lincoln National Co. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.89%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 128.57%.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln National

In other news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 2,863 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total value of $103,068.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 99,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,587,184. The trade was a 2.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LNC. StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays raised their price target on Lincoln National from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.25.

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.