Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Sells 158,733 Shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC)

Key Points

• Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. has reduced its stake in Lincoln National Corporation by 36.9%, selling 158,733 shares, and now holds approximately 0.16% of the company valued at $9.73 million.
• Lincoln National reported a Q2 EPS of $2.36, surpassing analysts' expectations, with revenue of $4.04 billion, which was below forecasts.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend payout of $0.45, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 4.9% with a payout ratio of 31.41%.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. trimmed its holdings in Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 36.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 270,999 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 158,733 shares during the quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned about 0.16% of Lincoln National worth $9,732,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Lincoln National by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,854,788 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $174,335,000 after purchasing an additional 97,600 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Lincoln National by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,876,319 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $91,208,000 after purchasing an additional 56,614 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Lincoln National by 301.2% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,522,195 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $48,269,000 after purchasing an additional 1,142,759 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Lincoln National by 53.1% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,258,512 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,907,000 after purchasing an additional 436,462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Lincoln National by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 1,118,235 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,459,000 after purchasing an additional 49,496 shares during the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of LNC stock opened at $36.85 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.26 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $6.29 billion, a PE ratio of 6.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $33.97 and a 200-day moving average of $34.30. Lincoln National Corporation has a one year low of $27.58 and a one year high of $39.85.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $4.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.65 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 19.14% and a net margin of 6.34%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.87 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Lincoln National's payout ratio is currently 31.41%.

Insider Activity at Lincoln National

In related news, EVP Brian Kroll sold 10,075 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.10, for a total value of $333,482.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 48,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,613,393.30. The trade was a 17.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 43,622 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.78, for a total value of $1,429,929.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 154,102 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,051,463.56. This represents a 22.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on LNC. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Lincoln National from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Lincoln National from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $38.78.

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.

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