Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Stock Price Down 7.9% on Analyst Downgrade

Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) fell 7.9% on Monday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $54.00 to $50.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Lincoln National traded as low as $37.29 and last traded at $36.7540. 408,177 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 1,845,262 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.90.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on LNC. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Lincoln National from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Lincoln National from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Lincoln National in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln National in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lincoln National has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.00.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln National

In other news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 3,519 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.15, for a total transaction of $155,363.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 118,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,253,187.75. This represents a 2.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP James Waltman Reid sold 3,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.81, for a total transaction of $127,520.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 118,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,957,286.27. This represents a 2.51% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln National

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LNC. Bain Capital Prairie LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at about $835,360,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the second quarter worth approximately $87,362,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Lincoln National by 58.7% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,681,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $163,922,000 after buying an additional 1,361,835 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $802,717,000 after buying an additional 1,183,934 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Lincoln National by 25.3% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,730,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $231,121,000 after acquiring an additional 1,157,599 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Stock Down 10.6%

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $6.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.31.

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

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.90%.

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.