Sciencast Management LP Decreases Stock Position in Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

Key Points

• Sciencast Management LP has reduced its stake in Lincoln National Corporation by 68.3%, selling 48,617 shares and now holding 22,517 shares valued at approximately $809,000.
• Lincoln National recently reported earnings of $2.36 per share for the quarter, surpassing estimates of $1.91 but noted revenue of $4.04 billion, which fell short of expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 4.3%, with a payout ratio of 31.41%.

Sciencast Management LP reduced its stake in shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 68.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,517 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 48,617 shares during the period. Sciencast Management LP's holdings in Lincoln National were worth $809,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the 1st quarter worth $835,000. Teza Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 30.5% during the 1st quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 10,014 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 2,338 shares during the last quarter. Scientech Research LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the 1st quarter worth $791,000. Petrus Trust Company LTA raised its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Petrus Trust Company LTA now owns 16,124 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $579,000 after buying an additional 1,829 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 206.6% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,176,613 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,252,000 after buying an additional 792,907 shares during the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on LNC shares. Wall Street Zen raised Lincoln National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. National Bankshares set a $41.00 price target on Lincoln National in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Lincoln National in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $39.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lincoln National news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.29, for a total value of $196,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 123,815 shares in the company, valued at $4,864,691.35. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lincoln National Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE LNC traded up $0.01 on Friday, reaching $42.16. 1,399,610 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,945,218. Lincoln National Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $27.58 and a fifty-two week high of $43.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $38.42 and a 200 day moving average of $35.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.99 billion, a PE ratio of 7.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.48.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.45. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 19.14% and a net margin of 6.34%.The business had revenue of $4.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.87 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Lincoln National's payout ratio is presently 31.41%.

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.