Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) Shares Sold by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 17.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,781,556 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 591,931 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.63% of Lincoln National worth $88,231,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter worth approximately $76,951,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Lincoln National during the 4th quarter valued at $54,189,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Lincoln National by 84.9% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,543,624 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $48,948,000 after purchasing an additional 708,584 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Lincoln National by 190.9% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 741,330 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $23,508,000 after acquiring an additional 486,478 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Lincoln National by 20,127.5% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 316,965 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,051,000 after buying an additional 315,398 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LNC has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays upped their target price on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $35.91.

Lincoln National Price Performance

LNC traded up $0.27 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $30.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 426,576 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,614,227. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.56. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $35.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.07. Lincoln National Co. has a twelve month low of $25.80 and a twelve month high of $39.85.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.04. Lincoln National had a net margin of 17.76% and a return on equity of 18.47%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.