HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 2,459 Shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,459 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $842,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ellis Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,095,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Lincoln National by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 40,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,252,000 after acquiring an additional 1,121 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,548,000. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 46.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 198,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,175,000 after purchasing an additional 62,929 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 374,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,634,000 after purchasing an additional 26,322 shares during the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on LNC shares. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.25.

Lincoln National Trading Down 5.9 %

LNC opened at $30.55 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.77. 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 12 month low of $25.09 and a 12 month high of $36.98. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.24.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.42. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 2.51%. The company had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lincoln National Co. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.89%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 128.57%.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln National

In other Lincoln National news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 2,863 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,587,184. The trade was a 2.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lincoln National 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.