Hennessy Advisors Inc. Reduces Stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 8.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,556,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 152,200 shares during the period. Lincoln National comprises 1.9% of Hennessy Advisors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned 0.91% of Lincoln National worth $55,901,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Lincoln National by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,876,319 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $91,208,000 after buying an additional 56,614 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter worth approximately $76,951,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Lincoln National by 84.9% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,543,624 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $48,948,000 after buying an additional 708,584 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 301.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 53.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company's stock.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

NYSE LNC traded down $0.70 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $32.43. 1,180,159 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,624,992. The business's fifty day moving average price is $32.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 1.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.40. Lincoln National Co. has a 52 week low of $27.58 and a 52 week high of $39.85.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. Lincoln National had a net margin of 17.76% and a return on equity of 18.47%. The company's revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lincoln National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $36.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln National

In other news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 43,622 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 154,102 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,051,463.56. This represents a 22.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Brian Kroll sold 10,075 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.10, for a total transaction of $333,482.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 48,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,613,393.30. The trade was a 17.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.