LSV Asset Management Reduces Stake in Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

LSV Asset Management trimmed its stake in Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,572,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 41,803 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $114,573,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNC. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Lincoln National by 58.7% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,681,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $163,922,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361,835 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Lincoln National by 6.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,903,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $802,717,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183,934 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Lincoln National by 25.3% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,730,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $231,121,000 after acquiring an additional 1,157,599 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Lincoln National in the third quarter valued at about $29,831,000. Finally, Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension purchased a new position in Lincoln National in the fourth quarter valued at about $24,014,000. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of LNC stock opened at $36.05 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.18, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $35.37 and its 200 day moving average is $39.13. Lincoln National Corporation has a 12 month low of $31.61 and a 12 month high of $46.82.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $4.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.93 billion. Lincoln National had a net margin of 9.17% and a return on equity of 18.07%. Lincoln National’s revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on LNC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $39.00 target price on shares of Lincoln National in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lincoln National news, major shareholder National Life Insuranc Lincoln purchased 2,254,486 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $11.09 per share, for a total transaction of $25,002,249.74. Following the purchase, the insider owned 9,784,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $108,508,130.98. This represents a 29.94% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.74, for a total transaction of $261,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 198,159 shares in the company, valued at $6,487,725.66. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.03% of the company’s stock.

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.