Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,016,414 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 128,235 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 1.77% of Lincoln National worth $108,319,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,050,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 112.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,912 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 2,071 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 93.2% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 27,244 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $864,000 after buying an additional 13,141 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc acquired a new stake in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at about $249,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company's stock.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LNC opened at $34.77 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.82. Lincoln National Corporation has a 52 week low of $27.58 and a 52 week high of $39.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.06. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 7.00%. The firm had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.41 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.18%. Lincoln National's payout ratio is 25.57%.

Insider Activity at Lincoln National

In related news, EVP Brian Kroll sold 10,075 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 48,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,613,393.30. This trade represents a 17.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 43,622 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.78, for a total value of $1,429,929.16. Following the sale, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LNC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Lincoln National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.00.

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.

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