US Bancorp DE Lowers Position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

US Bancorp DE lessened its position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 842 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $1,314,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Lincoln National by 1.3% during 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 buying an additional 79,955 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Lincoln National by 4.2% during the third 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 buying an additional 193,025 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Lincoln National by 4.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,373,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $106,322,000 after buying an additional 152,622 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Lincoln National by 7.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,309,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $104,281,000 after buying an additional 223,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in Lincoln National by 9.7% during 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 buying an additional 207,800 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of LNC opened at $35.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Lincoln National Co. has a one year low of $25.80 and a one year high of $39.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 1.94, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.76. The business has a fifty day moving average of $34.97 and a 200 day moving average of $33.45.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.04. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 17.76%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is currently 9.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LNC. Barclays lifted their price objective on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Lincoln National from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.