Bank of America Has Lowered Expectations for Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Stock Price

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) had its price objective reduced by Bank of America from $41.00 to $37.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 2.77% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Lincoln National from $43.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 9th. National Bank Financial set a $48.00 price target on Lincoln National in a report on Monday. Mizuho decreased their price target on Lincoln National from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Lincoln National from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Lincoln National from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.79.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of Lincoln National stock opened at $36.00 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $36.01 and its 200 day moving average is $39.79. The stock has a market cap of $6.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.23. Lincoln National has a one year low of $28.98 and a one year high of $46.82.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $4.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.85 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.52% and a net margin of 6.46%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lincoln National will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln National

In other news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 8,000 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.74, for a total value of $261,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 198,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,487,725.66. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder National Life Insuranc Lincoln bought 2,254,486 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $11.09 per share, for a total transaction of $25,002,249.74. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 9,784,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $108,508,130.98. The trade was a 29.94% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 21,050 shares of company stock valued at $734,041. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln National

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 6.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,903,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $802,717,000 after purchasing an additional 1,183,934 shares during the last quarter. Bain Capital Prairie LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln National in the fourth quarter worth about $835,360,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Lincoln National by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,233,327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $277,574,000 after acquiring an additional 502,600 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Lincoln National by 0.7% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,199,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $214,504,000 after acquiring an additional 40,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Lincoln National by 21.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,952,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $240,051,000 after acquiring an additional 1,035,505 shares in the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.