Schroder Investment Management Group Has $3.11 Million Stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Schroder Investment Management Group cut its stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 11.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 98,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,171 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $3,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth about $76,951,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,189,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 84.9% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,543,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,948,000 after purchasing an additional 708,584 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 190.9% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 741,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,508,000 after purchasing an additional 486,478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth $8,155,000. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

LNC opened at $29.90 on Friday. Lincoln National Co. has a 52-week low of $25.80 and a 52-week high of $39.85. The business’s fifty day moving average is $36.42 and its 200-day moving average is $34.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 1.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.55.

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

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.02%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LNC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.45.

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.