New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 6,500 Shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 90,118 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,500 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.05% of Lincoln National worth $2,858,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNC. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the fourth quarter valued at $54,189,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in 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 worth $104,281,000 after acquiring an additional 223,129 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,355,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $74,206,000 after purchasing an additional 207,800 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $150,104,000 after purchasing an additional 193,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 119.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 325,808 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,237,000 after purchasing an additional 177,430 shares in the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Lincoln National Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of LNC traded up $0.53 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $36.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,198,890 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,632,447. The company has a 50 day moving average of $34.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.76. Lincoln National Co. has a 1-year low of $25.80 and a 1-year high of $39.85.

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, beating 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 predict that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays boosted 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. TD Cowen increased their price target on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a 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 assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.40.

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.