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

Ieq Capital LLC decreased its position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 64.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,588 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 11,997 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Lincoln National were worth $209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Lincoln National in the fourth quarter valued at about $54,189,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Lincoln National by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,309,453 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $104,281,000 after purchasing an additional 223,129 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,355,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $74,206,000 after buying an additional 207,800 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Lincoln National by 4.2% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,763,703 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $150,104,000 after buying an additional 193,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 119.6% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 325,808 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,237,000 after buying an additional 177,430 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Lincoln National from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.40.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

LNC stock traded down $1.12 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $37.88. The company had a trading volume of 1,805,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,597,751. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.45 billion, a PE ratio of 2.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $34.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.33. Lincoln National Co. has a fifty-two week low of $25.60 and a fifty-two 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 - Get Free Report) last released 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%. Analysts anticipate that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.75%. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.79%.

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.