Vanguard Group Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,121,739 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 423,480 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 11.22% of Lincoln National worth $606,350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. M Holdings Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Lincoln National by 95.3% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Lincoln National during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company's stock.

Lincoln National Price Performance

LNC stock traded down $3.44 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $29.90. 3,647,738 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,566,998. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $36.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.63, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.55. Lincoln National Co. has a fifty-two week low of $25.80 and a fifty-two week high of $39.85.

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Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.04. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 17.76%. Research analysts predict that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LNC. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Lincoln National from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $37.45.

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.