Greenwood Capital Associates LLC Boosts Holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Greenwood Capital Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,911 shares during the period. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $1,417,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M Holdings Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in Lincoln National during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Lincoln National in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Brian Kroll sold 10,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.10, for a total transaction of $333,482.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 48,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,613,393.30. This trade represents a 17.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 43,622 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.78, for a total value of $1,429,929.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 154,102 shares in the company, valued at $5,051,463.56. This trade represents a 22.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LNC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Lincoln National from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.82.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LNC opened at $33.07 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Lincoln National Co. has a 12 month low of $27.58 and a 12 month high of $39.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 1.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.40. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $32.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.88.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 17.76%. The business’s revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.57%.

Lincoln National Profile

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.