Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 53.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 279,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 321,145 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $8,849,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNC. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the 4th quarter worth about $123,000. Range Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln National in the fourth quarter worth about $1,075,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Lincoln National by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,696 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Lincoln National by 20.2% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Lincoln National by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,309,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,281,000 after acquiring an additional 223,129 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:LNC opened at $33.14 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. Lincoln National Co. has a 52-week low of $25.09 and a 52-week high of $36.98. The company has a market capitalization of $5.64 billion, a PE ratio of 23.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 1.78. The company has a fifty day moving average of $33.22 and a 200-day moving average of $32.24.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.06 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.23 earnings per share. Lincoln National’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Lincoln National Co. will post 6.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is 128.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LNC. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Lincoln National from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays dropped their price target on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 2,863 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total value of $103,068.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 99,644 shares in the company, valued at $3,587,184. This represents a 2.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

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.