New Century Financial Group LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

New Century Financial Group LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 74.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,130 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 31,989 shares during the period. New Century Financial Group LLC's holdings in Lincoln National were worth $400,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. M Holdings Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in Lincoln National during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Lincoln National in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on LNC shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lincoln National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 7th. Barclays increased their price target on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group boosted their target price 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. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $36.82.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LNC traded down $0.70 during mid-day trading 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 company has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 1.76, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.40. Lincoln National Co. has a 1 year low of $27.58 and a 1 year high of $39.85. The company's 50-day moving average is $32.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.84. 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 (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.06. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 17.76%. The business had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. 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 is presently 25.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln National

In other news, EVP Brian Kroll sold 10,075 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.10, for a total value of $333,482.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 48,743 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,613,393.30. This represents a 17.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 43,622 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.78, for a total transaction of $1,429,929.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 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 corporate insiders.

Lincoln National 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.