Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Decreases Position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 36.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,729 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $82,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LNC. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 2,107.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 4,279,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $105,703,000 after purchasing an additional 4,085,637 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 53.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,157,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $77,951,000 after purchasing an additional 1,098,532 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Lincoln National by 82.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,758,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,424,000 after acquiring an additional 792,900 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter worth $19,350,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Lincoln National by 2,549.8% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 719,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,413,000 after acquiring an additional 692,637 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of LNC opened at $27.96 on Friday. Lincoln National Co. has a fifty-two week low of $18.50 and a fifty-two week high of $32.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The business’s 50-day moving average is $28.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.40.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.13. Lincoln National had a positive return on equity of 20.81% and a negative net margin of 6.46%. The firm had revenue of $1.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lincoln National Co. will post 6.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 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 6.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -36.07%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Owen Ryan acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.90 per share, for a total transaction of $259,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $259,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LNC. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Lincoln National from $29.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Lincoln National from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Lincoln National from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Lincoln National from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.45.

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.