Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) Shares Sold by Two Sigma Advisers LP

Two Sigma Advisers LP trimmed its holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 11.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,080,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 274,800 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned approximately 1.22% of Lincoln National worth $65,963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LNC. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 29,431 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $933,000 after acquiring an additional 602 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,150 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $702,000 after acquiring an additional 2,961 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at $203,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 19.5% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 64,658 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,050,000 after acquiring an additional 10,560 shares during the period. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at $324,000. 72.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

NYSE:LNC opened at $34.26 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Lincoln National Co. has a fifty-two week low of $27.58 and a fifty-two week high of $39.85. The stock has a market cap of $5.85 billion, a PE ratio of 1.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.42. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $33.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.09.

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. Lincoln National had a net margin of 17.76% and a return on equity of 18.47%. The business had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.25%. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on LNC shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $36.82.

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.

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