Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) Shares Sold by Quantbot Technologies LP

Quantbot Technologies LP trimmed its holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 33.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 199,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 99,676 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP owned approximately 0.12% of Lincoln National worth $6,340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 95.3% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Lincoln National by 20.2% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 121.7% during the 4th quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 2,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 1,275 shares during the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LNC. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Lincoln National from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment 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 MarketBeat, Lincoln National presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.40.

Lincoln National Price Performance

NYSE:LNC opened at $36.13 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $35.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.72. The firm has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 1.97, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.76. Lincoln National Co. has a 52-week low of $25.80 and a 52-week high of $39.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.04. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 17.76%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.98%. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is presently 9.79%.

Lincoln National Profile

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.