Headlands Technologies LLC Makes New Investment in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $35,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,309,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $104,281,000 after purchasing an additional 223,129 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 64,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,050,000 after buying an additional 10,560 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 20,127.5% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 316,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,051,000 after acquiring an additional 315,398 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at $1,050,000. Finally, Amundi raised its position in Lincoln National by 92.0% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 119,294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,747,000 after purchasing an additional 57,152 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Trading Down 3.5 %

Shares of LNC opened at $28.83 on Wednesday. Lincoln National Co. has a twelve month low of $25.80 and a twelve month high of $39.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 1.57, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.56. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $36.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.10.

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

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.24%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Lincoln National from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Barclays lifted 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. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.45.

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.