Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. decreased its holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 48.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,672 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 16,687 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $560,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LNC shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.40.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Lincoln National stock traded down $1.42 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $34.18. 2,968,426 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,659,165. 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 firm's fifty day moving average is $34.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.47. Lincoln National Co. has a fifty-two week low of $25.80 and a fifty-two week high of $39.85. The company has a market capitalization of $5.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.76.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.27%. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.