Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.45

Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC – Get Rating) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 25th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of 0.45 per share by the financial services provider on Tuesday, August 1st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.61%.

Lincoln National has raised its dividend by an average of 6.0% per year over the last three years. Lincoln National has a payout ratio of 21.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Lincoln National to earn $8.58 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 21.0%.

Lincoln National Stock Down 1.1 %

LNC stock traded down $0.23 on Thursday, hitting $20.90. The company had a trading volume of 2,327,490 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,677,795. The company has a current ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.64. Lincoln National has a 12-month low of $18.50 and a 12-month high of $58.68.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.03. Lincoln National had a negative return on equity of 17.09% and a negative net margin of 17.97%. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. Lincoln National’s revenue was down 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Lincoln National will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $31.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 11th. Barclays lowered their target price on Lincoln National from $20.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 3rd. StockNews.com began coverage on Lincoln National in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. 51job reiterated a “reiterates” rating on shares of Lincoln National in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $39.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.43.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln National

In other Lincoln National news, Director Gary C. Kelly acquired 7,838 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.52 per share, for a total transaction of $200,025.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $382,978.64. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln National

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LNC. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,443,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $414,674,000 after purchasing an additional 1,628,081 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 249.3% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,420,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $135,811,000 after acquiring an additional 3,155,232 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Lincoln National by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,333,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $133,134,000 after acquiring an additional 351,565 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Lincoln National by 15.9% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,005,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $196,440,000 after acquiring an additional 411,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Lincoln National in the fourth quarter worth $62,691,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.00% of the company’s stock.

About Lincoln National

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Lincoln National Corp. is a holding company, which operates multiple insurance and retirement businesses through its subsidiary companies. It provides advice and solutions that help empower people to take charge of their financial lives with confidence and optimism. It operates through the following segments: Annuities, Retirement Plan Services, Life Insurance, Group Protection, and Other Operations.