Vanguard Group Inc. Has $879.07 Million Holdings in Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

Key Points

• Vanguard Group trimmed its stake by 0.8% to 19,741,163 shares but still owns 10.39% of Lincoln National, valued at about $879.07 million.
• Company insiders have sold 21,050 shares worth $734,041 in the past 90 days (including two EVP sales), leaving insiders with just 0.51% ownership.
• Multiple major analysts have lowered price targets (Bank of America, TD Cowen, UBS, Barclays), and the consensus rating is a Hold with an average target of $43.79.

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its holdings in Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 19,741,163 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 162,557 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 10.39% of Lincoln National worth $879,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNC. Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Lincoln National in the first quarter valued at approximately $241,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 30.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 71,981 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,585,000 after buying an additional 16,991 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 316.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 59,115 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,123,000 after buying an additional 44,936 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 5.0% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 623,322 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $22,383,000 after buying an additional 29,421 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 39.1% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 19,530 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $701,000 after buying an additional 5,486 shares during the period. 72.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP James Waltman Reid sold 3,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.81, for a total transaction of $127,520.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 118,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,957,286.27. This represents a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.74, for a total value of $261,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 198,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,487,725.66. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,050 shares of company stock worth $734,041. 0.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LNC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America dropped their price target on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $37.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Lincoln National in a research note on Friday, March 27th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Lincoln National from $43.00 to $38.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 9th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Lincoln National from $43.00 to $37.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Lincoln National from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $43.79.

Lincoln National Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE LNC opened at $37.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. Lincoln National Corporation has a 52 week low of $31.61 and a 52 week high of $46.82. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $35.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $4.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.52% and a net margin of 6.46%.The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio is 33.90%.

Lincoln National Company Profile

Lincoln National Corporation, doing business as Lincoln Financial Group, is a diversified financial services holding company focused on providing retirement, insurance, and wealth management solutions in the United States and select international markets. Headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, the company operates through several business segments, including Retirement Plan Services, Life Insurance, and Group Protection. Its offerings are designed to help individuals, families, and institutions plan and prepare for their financial futures.

The Retirement Plan Services segment delivers recordkeeping, administrative services, and investment management for defined contribution and defined benefit plans.

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