Cim Investment Management Inc. Sells 16,851 Shares of Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

Cim Investment Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) by 50.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 16,851 shares during the quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LNC. Keystone Financial Group increased its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 706.3% in the 3rd quarter. Keystone Financial Group now owns 70,097 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,904,000 after purchasing an additional 61,403 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in Lincoln National by 4.1% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 96,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,902,000 after purchasing an additional 3,850 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in Lincoln National during the third quarter valued at about $181,000. PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln National in the third quarter worth about $326,000. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 4.7% in the third quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 16,695 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $673,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on LNC shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Lincoln National from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $41.00 to $48.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. National Bank Financial set a $45.00 price target on shares of Lincoln National in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Lincoln National in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $52.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln National in a report on Monday, December 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lincoln National currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.46.

Lincoln National Trading Up 3.3%

Shares of LNC stock opened at $34.56 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $6.57 billion, a PE ratio of 6.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.30. Lincoln National Corporation has a 1 year low of $27.58 and a 1 year high of $46.82. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

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

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.90%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder National Life Insuranc Lincoln bought 2,300,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $10.87 per share, with a total value of $25,002,065.26. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,529,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,849,328.19. The trade was a 43.98% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 10,000 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.46, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 206,159 shares in the company, valued at $7,104,239.14. This trade represents a 4.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,050 shares of company stock worth $734,041. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Company Profile

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.