Investors Research Corp Sells 2,100 Shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Investors Research Corp trimmed its stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 20.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,100 shares during the quarter. Investors Research Corp’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $224,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in shares of Lincoln National by 2.1% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 11,034,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $284,253,000 after purchasing an additional 222,904 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Lincoln National by 20.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,443,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $414,674,000 after acquiring an additional 1,628,081 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Lincoln National by 12.4% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,313,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $131,188,000 after acquiring an additional 585,977 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Lincoln National by 249.3% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,420,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $135,811,000 after acquiring an additional 3,155,232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Lincoln National by 2,107.9% during the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 4,279,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $105,703,000 after acquiring an additional 4,085,637 shares during the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln National

In related news, Director Owen Ryan purchased 10,000 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.90 per share, for a total transaction of $259,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $259,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.75% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of Lincoln National stock opened at $27.88 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 1.81. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.20. Lincoln National Co. has a 12 month low of $18.50 and a 12 month high of $32.43.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. Lincoln National had a positive return on equity of 20.81% and a negative net margin of 6.46%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lincoln National Co. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is currently -36.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LNC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Lincoln National from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $29.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.45.

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.