Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Cuts Stake in Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lowered its stake in shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) by 47.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 148,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 136,591 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $6,613,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the third quarter worth about $29,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 61.8% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

LNC opened at $34.75 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.65 billion, a PE ratio of 4.03, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.17. Lincoln National Corporation has a twelve month low of $31.69 and a twelve month high of $46.82. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $35.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $4.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.93 billion. Lincoln National had a net margin of 9.17% and a return on equity of 18.07%. Lincoln National’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is presently 20.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LNC has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of Lincoln National in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lincoln National news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.74, for a total value of $261,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 198,159 shares in the company, valued at $6,487,725.66. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lincoln National 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.