Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) Position Decreased by Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia lessened its holdings in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 12.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 173,585 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 23,874 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 0.10% of Lincoln National worth $5,504,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of LNC. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its position in Lincoln National by 182.2% in the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,250 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares during the last quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 102,679 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,256,000 after purchasing an additional 5,230 shares in the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 16,979 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 2,385 shares during the last quarter. Unison Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 64,193 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,036,000 after purchasing an additional 865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allen Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC now owns 56,693 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,798,000 after purchasing an additional 4,494 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LNC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Lincoln National from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective 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. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Lincoln National from $42.00 to $32.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $35.91.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LNC traded up $0.61 during trading on Thursday, reaching $30.64. The stock had a trading volume of 477,198 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,615,939. Lincoln National Co. has a 1-year low of $25.80 and a 1-year high of $39.85. The stock has a market cap of $5.22 billion, a PE ratio of 1.66, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $35.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.04.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.04. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 17.76%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.87%. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.79%.

Lincoln National Company 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.