Craigt Beazer Sells 30,000 Shares of Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Stock

Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) EVP Craigt Beazer sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.45, for a total transaction of $1,033,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 103,906 shares in the company, valued at $3,579,561.70. The trade was a 22.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Lincoln National Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of Lincoln National stock opened at $35.38 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Lincoln National Corporation has a 12-month low of $31.69 and a 12-month high of $46.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.10, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.64.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.08. Lincoln National had a net margin of 9.17% and a return on equity of 18.07%. The business had revenue of $4.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.60 EPS. Lincoln National’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.72 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on LNC shares. National Bank Financial set a $40.00 target price on shares of Lincoln National in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lincoln National from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Lincoln National by 6.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,903,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $802,717,000 after buying an additional 1,183,934 shares during the period. Bain Capital Prairie LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln National during the fourth quarter valued at $835,360,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Lincoln National by 24.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,755,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $275,304,000 after buying an additional 1,522,179 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Lincoln National by 0.7% during 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 buying an additional 40,676 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Lincoln National by 5.0% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,879,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $196,805,000 after buying an additional 234,415 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

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.