Trust Investment Advisors Decreases Stock Holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Trust Investment Advisors lowered its stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 27.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,460 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,786 shares during the quarter. Trust Investment Advisors’ holdings in Lincoln National were worth $768,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Achmea Investment Management B.V. bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the first quarter worth $30,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 3,930.8% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,048 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Lincoln National by 65.6% during the 1st quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln National during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Lincoln National by 704.7% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 1,205 shares in the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln National Trading Up 1.4 %

LNC stock traded up $0.38 during trading on Thursday, reaching $27.23. 1,848,240 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,915,894. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $28.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.17 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Lincoln National Co. has a 1 year low of $18.50 and a 1 year high of $32.43.

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

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.61%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -36.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Lincoln National from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Lincoln National from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $29.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.45.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Owen Ryan acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.90 per share, with a total value of $259,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $259,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.55% of the company’s stock.

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.