Russell Investments Group Ltd. Cuts Position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 37.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,591 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 17,225 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $906,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 16,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $538,000 after acquiring an additional 2,385 shares during the last quarter. Unison Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 64,193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,036,000 after buying an additional 865 shares during the last quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC now owns 56,693 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,798,000 after purchasing an additional 4,494 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at $204,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Lincoln National stock opened at $29.39 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 1.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $35.02 and a 200-day moving average of $34.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Lincoln National Co. has a 52 week low of $25.80 and a 52 week high of $39.85.

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

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is 9.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on LNC shares. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays increased their price target 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. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target 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. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Lincoln National currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.91.

About Lincoln National

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.