Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) Shares Sold by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 149,986 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,294 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Lincoln National worth $4,756,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LNC. Sigma Planning Corp grew its holdings in Lincoln National by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 27,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $875,000 after purchasing an additional 1,435 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Lincoln National by 459.9% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,711 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in Lincoln National during the 3rd quarter valued at $259,000. Entropy Technologies LP boosted its stake in Lincoln National by 262.6% during the 3rd quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 25,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $811,000 after acquiring an additional 18,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its stake in Lincoln National by 334.3% during the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 66,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,101,000 after acquiring an additional 51,313 shares during the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on LNC. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.40.

Lincoln National Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:LNC opened at $35.15 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $5.99 billion, a PE ratio of 1.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.76. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $35.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.52. Lincoln National Co. has a fifty-two week low of $25.80 and a fifty-two week high of $39.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.04. Lincoln National had a net margin of 17.76% and a return on equity of 18.47%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.12%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.79%.

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.