Lincoln National Corporation $LNC Position Cut by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its position in shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 476,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 20,176 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $21,211,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Lincoln National by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,903,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $802,717,000 after purchasing an additional 1,183,934 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 0.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,199,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $214,504,000 after buying an additional 40,676 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 25.3% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,730,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $231,121,000 after buying an additional 1,157,599 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 5.0% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,879,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $196,805,000 after buying an additional 234,415 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 58.7% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,681,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $163,922,000 after buying an additional 1,361,835 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Stock Up 0.0%

LNC opened at $35.30 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $35.58 and its 200-day moving average is $38.93. Lincoln National Corporation has a one year low of $31.69 and a one year high of $46.82. The company has a market capitalization of $6.75 billion, a PE ratio of 4.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.25.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.08. Lincoln National had a net margin of 9.17% and a return on equity of 18.07%. The firm had revenue of $4.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.60 earnings per share. Lincoln National’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is presently 20.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Lincoln National from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. National Bank Financial set a $40.00 price target on Lincoln National in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $43.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.74, for a total transaction of $261,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 198,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,487,725.66. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Lincoln National

Lincoln National Corporation, doing business as Lincoln Financial Group, is a diversified financial services holding company focused on providing retirement, insurance, and wealth management solutions in the United States and select international markets. Headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, the company operates through several business segments, including Retirement Plan Services, Life Insurance, and Group Protection. Its offerings are designed to help individuals, families, and institutions plan and prepare for their financial futures.

The Retirement Plan Services segment delivers recordkeeping, administrative services, and investment management for defined contribution and defined benefit plans.