Marshall Wace LLP Has $33.96 Million Stock Position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Marshall Wace LLP lessened its holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 24.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,071,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 353,514 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $33,964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LNC. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Lincoln National by 7.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,309,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $104,281,000 after buying an additional 223,129 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $76,951,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $54,189,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Lincoln National by 84.9% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,543,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,948,000 after purchasing an additional 708,584 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in Lincoln National by 190.9% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 741,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,508,000 after buying an additional 486,478 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Price Performance

LNC stock opened at $30.25 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.65, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.56. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.03. Lincoln National Co. has a 12-month low of $25.80 and a 12-month high of $39.85.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, analysts expect that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.95%. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is presently 9.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LNC. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Lincoln National from $42.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Lincoln National from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.91.

Lincoln National Company 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.