Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Decreases Stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. reduced its position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 33.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 429,732 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 217,026 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned 0.25% of Lincoln National worth $13,627,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LNC. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Lincoln National by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the period. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. raised its position in Lincoln National by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 6,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Lincoln National by 20.2% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Lincoln National by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 49,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,566,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP raised its position in Lincoln National by 23.2% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the period. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln National Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:LNC opened at $35.15 on Thursday. Lincoln National Co. has a 52-week low of $25.80 and a 52-week high of $39.85. The stock has a market cap of $5.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 1.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.76. The business’s 50 day moving average is $35.15 and its 200 day moving average is $33.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.04. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 17.76%. Sell-side analysts predict that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.12%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LNC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays upped their target price on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Lincoln National from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.40.

Lincoln National Company 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.