Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) Shares Sold by Sanctuary Advisors LLC

Sanctuary Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 20.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,707 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 11,063 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC's holdings in Lincoln National were worth $1,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LNC. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. lifted its position in Lincoln National by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 6,610 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Lincoln National by 20.2% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in Lincoln National by 23.2% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,793 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in 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 worth $34,000 after buying an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eads & Heald Wealth Management lifted its position in Lincoln National by 7.8% in the third quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management now owns 7,490 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 545 shares during the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on LNC shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays lifted their target price on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Lincoln National from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $37.40.

Lincoln National Stock Up 2.7 %

NYSE:LNC traded up $1.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $39.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,609,168 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,592,412. Lincoln National Co. has a 1 year low of $25.60 and a 1 year high of $39.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $34.51 and a 200-day moving average of $33.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.64 billion, a PE ratio of 2.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.79. 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 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.62%. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.