Sean Woodroffe Sells 11,000 Shares of Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Stock

Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.28, for a total value of $498,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 119,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,431,200.16. This trade represents a 8.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Lincoln National Price Performance

LNC opened at $43.55 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $40.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.83. Lincoln National Corporation has a 1 year low of $32.18 and a 1 year high of $47.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.34 billion, a PE ratio of 3.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.15.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.28. Lincoln National had a net margin of 12.21% and a return on equity of 17.35%. The business had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.36 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.85 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 Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, October 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is 15.60%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bain Capital Prairie LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $835,360,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth $101,114,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Lincoln National during the second quarter worth $63,112,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Lincoln National by 24.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,755,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $275,304,000 after buying an additional 1,522,179 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Lincoln National by 58.7% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,681,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $163,922,000 after buying an additional 1,361,835 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on LNC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen upped their price target on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Lincoln National from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. National Bank Financial set a $51.00 price objective on Lincoln National in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 target price on shares of Lincoln National in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.43.

Lincoln National Company Profile

Lincoln National Corporation, doing business as Lincoln Financial Group, is a diversified financial services holding company focused on providing retirement, insurance, and wealth management solutions in the United States and select international markets. Headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, the company operates through several business segments, including Retirement Plan Services, Life Insurance, and Group Protection. Its offerings are designed to help individuals, families, and institutions plan and prepare for their financial futures.

The Retirement Plan Services segment delivers recordkeeping, administrative services, and investment management for defined contribution and defined benefit plans.