SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 17,660 Shares of Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

SG Americas Securities LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) by 47.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 17,660 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $704,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bain Capital Prairie LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the 4th quarter valued at about $835,360,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,233,327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $277,574,000 after acquiring an additional 502,600 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Lincoln National by 0.7% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,199,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $214,504,000 after acquiring an additional 40,676 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Lincoln National by 58.7% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,681,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $163,922,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361,835 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,959,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $131,801,000 after acquiring an additional 14,842 shares during the period. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln National

In other news, EVP Craigt T. Beazer sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.45, for a total value of $1,033,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 103,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,579,561.70. This represents a 22.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LNC. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $39.00 target price on shares of Lincoln National in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Barclays upgraded shares of Lincoln National from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $45.00 in a report on Monday. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $41.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.21.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of Lincoln National stock traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $38.62. 44,635 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,034,022. Lincoln National Corporation has a one year low of $32.18 and a one year high of $46.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $36.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.91.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $4.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.93 billion. Lincoln National had a net margin of 9.17% and a return on equity of 18.07%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.60 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.88%.

About Lincoln National

Lincoln National Corporation, doing business as Lincoln Financial Group, is a diversified financial services holding company focused on providing retirement, insurance, and wealth management solutions in the United States and select international markets. Headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, the company operates through several business segments, including Retirement Plan Services, Life Insurance, and Group Protection. Its offerings are designed to help individuals, families, and institutions plan and prepare for their financial futures.

The Retirement Plan Services segment delivers recordkeeping, administrative services, and investment management for defined contribution and defined benefit plans.