Cerity Partners LLC Cuts Holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Cerity Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 17.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 48,662 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,367 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Lincoln National were worth $1,539,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LNC. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its holdings in Lincoln National by 182.2% during 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 buying an additional 807 shares in the last quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. increased its position in Lincoln National by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 102,679 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,256,000 after purchasing an additional 5,230 shares during the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its stake in Lincoln National by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 16,979 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 2,385 shares in the last quarter. Unison Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lincoln National by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 64,193 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,036,000 after purchasing an additional 865 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allen Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC now owns 56,693 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,798,000 after buying an additional 4,494 shares in the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln National Trading Up 4.6 %

Lincoln National stock traded up $1.40 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $31.73. The company had a trading volume of 260,548 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,002,569. The firm has a market cap of $5.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 1.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $34.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.03. Lincoln National Co. has a 1 year low of $25.80 and a 1 year high of $39.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.67%. Lincoln National's payout ratio is currently 9.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Lincoln National from $42.00 to $32.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted 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, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lincoln National currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $35.91.

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.