Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) Holdings Trimmed by Marshall Wace LLP

Marshall Wace LLP cut its position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 24.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,071,094 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 353,514 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP owned 0.63% of Lincoln National worth $33,964,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Lincoln National by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 44,820 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,421,000 after buying an additional 4,578 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP increased its holdings in Lincoln National by 87.4% during the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 380,962 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,080,000 after purchasing an additional 177,723 shares during the last quarter. M Holdings Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $922,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 33.5% during the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 14,356 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 3,606 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC grew its position in shares of Lincoln National by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 28,934 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $917,000 after buying an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of LNC stock traded up $1.17 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $32.02. The stock had a trading volume of 608,165 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,000,290. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $25.80 and a twelve month high of $39.85. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.46 billion, a PE ratio of 1.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.56.

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

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 5.62%. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LNC. Barclays boosted their price objective on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Lincoln National from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $42.00 to $32.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $35.91.

About Lincoln National

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.