New Century Financial Group LLC Trims Position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

New Century Financial Group LLC lowered its position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 1.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 834 shares during the quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $1,321,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LNC. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Lincoln National in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. raised its holdings in Lincoln National by 106.7% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in Lincoln National in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Adirondack Trust Co. purchased a new position in Lincoln National during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln National Stock Up 0.3 %

Lincoln National stock opened at $31.51 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.36 billion, a PE ratio of 4.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $31.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.66. Lincoln National Co. has a 1-year low of $20.85 and a 1-year high of $36.46.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.65 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 12.24%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lincoln National Co. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.71%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is 24.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Barclays assumed coverage on Lincoln National in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Lincoln National from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Lincoln National from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lincoln National presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.64.

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.