Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Reduces Stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 75,460 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 821 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $2,035,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Lincoln National by 3,930.8% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,048 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Lincoln National by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 115.2% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 938 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Lincoln National by 47.0% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 571 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of Lincoln National stock traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $29.00. 249,797 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,889,908. Lincoln National Co. has a 1 year low of $18.50 and a 1 year high of $32.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The business has a 50-day moving average of $28.53 and a 200-day moving average of $26.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 1.80.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.13. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 19.50% and a net margin of 11.31%. The firm had revenue of $1.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Lincoln National Co. will post 6.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 9th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on LNC shares. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Lincoln National from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com raised Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Lincoln National from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Lincoln National from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Lincoln National from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Two research analysts have 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln National

In other news, Director Owen Ryan bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $25.90 per share, with a total value of $259,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $259,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.