Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 1,987 Shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its stake in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 131,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,987 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.08% of Lincoln National worth $4,185,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in LNC. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Lincoln National by 95.3% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Lincoln National by 121.7% in the fourth quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 2,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,275 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Lincoln National from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.40.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LNC opened at $37.68 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $36.07 and a 200-day moving average of $33.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. Lincoln National Co. has a twelve month low of $25.80 and a twelve month high of $39.85. The firm has a market cap of $6.42 billion, a PE ratio of 2.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.76.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.79%.

Lincoln National Company Profile

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.