Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 9,259 Shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Natixis Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,309 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,259 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LNC. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in Lincoln National during the second quarter valued at about $142,148,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in 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 valued at $104,281,000 after purchasing an additional 223,129 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Lincoln National by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,828,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,970,000 after purchasing an additional 348,601 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Lincoln National by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,249,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,966,000 after purchasing an additional 31,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Lincoln National by 49.5% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,150,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,892,000 after purchasing an additional 711,951 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of Lincoln National stock opened at $35.37 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $33.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.91. Lincoln National Co. has a one year low of $23.40 and a one year high of $36.98. The stock has a market cap of $6.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.61 billion. Lincoln National had a net margin of 2.51% and a return on equity of 18.15%. Lincoln National’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.23 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Lincoln National Co. will post 6.53 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 128.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on LNC shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Lincoln National in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $34.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lincoln National news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 2,863 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total value of $103,068.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 99,644 shares in the company, valued at $3,587,184. This trade represents a 2.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.54% of the stock is owned by 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.