Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) Position Trimmed by Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 53.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 21,511 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $586,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in Lincoln National in the second quarter worth about $142,148,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 59.2% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,086,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $95,985,000 after purchasing an additional 1,147,896 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Lincoln National by 3,488.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 966,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,669,000 after purchasing an additional 939,447 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in Lincoln National during the 1st quarter worth $28,649,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Lincoln National by 49.5% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,150,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,892,000 after buying an additional 711,951 shares during the period. 72.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LNC has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Lincoln National in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $34.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Lincoln National from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Lincoln National from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.00.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LNC opened at $35.35 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $32.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.59. The company has a market capitalization of $6.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.25, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Lincoln National Co. has a twelve month low of $23.14 and a twelve month high of $36.98.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.61 billion. Lincoln National had a net margin of 2.51% and a return on equity of 18.15%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Lincoln National Co. will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 128.57%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 2,863 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total value of $103,068.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 99,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,587,184. This trade represents a 2.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.