Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Sells 2,539 Shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lessened its stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,449 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,539 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $1,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OLD National Bancorp IN raised its position in shares of Lincoln National by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 8,415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in 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 worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 6.2% during the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 6,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 526 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Lincoln National by 95.3% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Stock Up 3.5 %

Shares of LNC stock opened at $37.01 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $32.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.49. Lincoln National Co. has a 1 year low of $25.09 and a 1 year high of $37.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.01, a PEG ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.79.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.04. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 17.76%. On average, equities analysts predict that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.86%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on LNC. TD Cowen increased their price target on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays increased their target price on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lincoln National currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.60.

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.