Bank of New York Mellon Corp Decreases Stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its position in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,088,833 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 29,548 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 1.23% of Lincoln National worth $66,237,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Lincoln National by 95.3% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the third quarter worth about $48,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Lincoln National during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Lincoln National by 459.9% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings 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 worth $67,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company's stock.

Lincoln National Stock Up 1.5 %

LNC traded up $0.53 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $36.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,198,890 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,632,447. The stock's 50-day moving average is $34.73 and its 200-day moving average is $33.36. Lincoln National Co. has a 1 year low of $25.80 and a 1 year high of $39.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.98, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, research analysts expect that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LNC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.40.

Lincoln National Company 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.