IFP Advisors Inc Sells 24,903 Shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

IFP Advisors Inc lessened its position in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 83.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,034 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 24,903 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc's holdings in Lincoln National were worth $162,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Lincoln National by 95.3% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased 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 worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on LNC shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Barclays upped their target price on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $37.40.

Lincoln National Trading Up 1.5 %

Lincoln National stock traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $36.41. 2,198,890 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,632,447. The stock 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. Lincoln National Co. has a 12 month low of $25.80 and a 12 month 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. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $34.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.36.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.04. Lincoln National had a net margin of 17.76% and a return on equity of 18.47%. Analysts forecast that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.94%. Lincoln National's payout ratio is 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.