Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 89.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 95,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,086 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $3,149,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LNC. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Lincoln National during the third quarter valued at about $535,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,373,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $106,322,000 after acquiring an additional 152,622 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,688 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Lincoln National during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,291,000. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd grew its position in Lincoln National by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd now owns 11,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 1,278 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity at Lincoln National

In related news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 2,863 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $3,587,184. The trade was a 2.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lincoln National Price Performance

LNC opened at $31.74 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $5.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.77. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.19. Lincoln National Co. has a 12-month low of $25.09 and a 12-month high of $36.98.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.42. Lincoln National had a net margin of 2.51% and a return on equity of 18.15%. The company had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.61 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.23 EPS. Lincoln National’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.67%. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is currently 128.57%.

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.