Grimes & Company Inc. Invests $210,000 in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Grimes & Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 6,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Merchants Corp bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the 4th quarter worth $269,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 1,032.2% during the 4th quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 105,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,853,000 after acquiring an additional 96,434 shares during the period. Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the 4th quarter worth $3,830,000. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the 4th quarter worth $2,263,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Inc. OK bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the 4th quarter worth $3,102,000. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LNC traded down $0.14 on Friday, hitting $31.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,224,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,430,472. The company has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a PE ratio of 4.25, a PEG ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.26 and a quick ratio of 0.26. Lincoln National Co. has a 1 year low of $20.85 and a 1 year high of $33.33. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.80.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.64 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 19.50% and a net margin of 11.31%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lincoln National Co. will post 6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.79%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is 24.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LNC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Lincoln National from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Lincoln National from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.70.

Insider Activity at Lincoln National

In related news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 55,127 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.57, for a total transaction of $1,795,486.39. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,457,165.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lincoln National 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.