Vanguard Group Inc. Cuts Position in Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC)

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,851,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 270,394 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.04% of Lincoln National worth $676,952,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 383.2% in the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares during the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in Lincoln National in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Lincoln National in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in Lincoln National in the first quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 40.5% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 853 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on LNC. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Lincoln National in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Cfra Research upgraded Lincoln National to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.22.

Lincoln National Trading Up 2.3%

NYSE:LNC opened at $40.61 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $7.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $34.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.59. Lincoln National Corporation has a 1 year low of $27.58 and a 1 year high of $40.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.26 and a quick ratio of 0.26.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.45. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 19.14% and a net margin of 6.34%. The company had revenue of $4.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.87 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Brian Kroll sold 10,075 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.10, for a total value of $333,482.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 48,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,613,393.30. This trade represents a 17.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.29, for a total value of $196,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 123,815 shares in the company, valued at $4,864,691.35. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 58,697 shares of company stock worth $1,959,862. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

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.