Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) Shares Sold by XTX Topco Ltd

XTX Topco Ltd reduced its position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,740 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 29,709 shares during the quarter. XTX Topco Ltd's holdings in Lincoln National were worth $275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in Lincoln National by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,227,993 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $196,244,000 after purchasing an additional 79,955 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Lincoln National by 4.2% in 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 buying an additional 193,025 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 7.2% during the 3rd 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. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Lincoln National by 14.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,828,513 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $87,970,000 after acquiring an additional 348,601 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted 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 valued at $74,206,000 after acquiring an additional 207,800 shares in the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

LNC traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $30.70. 1,816,690 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,597,973. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $33.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.77. Lincoln National Co. has a 1-year low of $25.09 and a 1-year high of $36.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.42. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 2.51%. The firm had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.61 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.23 earnings per share. Lincoln National's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lincoln National Co. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 128.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on LNC shares. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on Lincoln National from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln National

In other news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 2,863 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total transaction of $103,068.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,587,184. This represents a 2.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.