Bank of Nova Scotia Trims Stock Position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Bank of Nova Scotia lowered its stake in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 12.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 173,585 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 23,874 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 0.10% of Lincoln National worth $5,504,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LNC. M Holdings Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln National during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 182.2% in the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,250 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 807 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Lincoln National by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. 72.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

NYSE:LNC traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $30.09. 2,001,390 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,620,145. Lincoln National Co. has a 52-week low of $25.80 and a 52-week high of $39.85. The company's 50 day moving average price is $35.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.64, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.56.

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Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.98%. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LNC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Lincoln National from $42.00 to $32.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of 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 reduced their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $35.91.

About Lincoln National

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.