Symmetry Partners LLC Buys Shares of 10,478 Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Symmetry Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $326,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LNC. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its position in Lincoln National by 1,032.2% during the fourth quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 105,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,853,000 after buying an additional 96,434 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 33.0% during the 1st quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 387,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,382,000 after purchasing an additional 96,200 shares during the last quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth about $2,263,000. Capital Advisors Inc. OK purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth about $3,102,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Lincoln National by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,854,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $697,825,000 after buying an additional 166,167 shares during the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Lincoln National from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.50.

Lincoln National Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:LNC traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $29.59. 967,711 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,735,078. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $31.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.27. Lincoln National Co. has a twelve month low of $20.85 and a twelve month high of $36.46. The company has a market cap of $5.03 billion, a PE ratio of 4.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.84.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.65 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 12.24%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.02 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lincoln National Co. will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.08%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is 24.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lincoln National news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 55,127 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 198,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,457,165.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

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.