Vinva Investment Management Ltd Acquires New Stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 5,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $173,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LNC. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Lincoln National by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,309,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,281,000 after acquiring an additional 223,129 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Lincoln National by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 64,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,050,000 after acquiring an additional 10,560 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln National during the 4th quarter worth about $1,050,000. Amundi grew its holdings in Lincoln National by 92.0% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 119,294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,747,000 after acquiring an additional 57,152 shares during the period. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln National during the 4th quarter worth about $1,075,000. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LNC opened at $36.13 on Friday. Lincoln National Co. has a fifty-two week low of $25.80 and a fifty-two week high of $39.85. The stock has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.97, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.72.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.04. Lincoln National had a net margin of 17.76% and a return on equity of 18.47%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.98%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LNC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their price target on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays raised their target price on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.40.

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.