Victory Capital Management Inc. Cuts Holdings in Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) by 5.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 817,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 49,091 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.43% of Lincoln National worth $32,972,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 0.7% during the 2nd 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 during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,952,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $240,051,000 after acquiring an additional 1,035,505 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 20.0% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,645,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $160,732,000 after acquiring an additional 774,721 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 16.9% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,736,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,672,000 after acquiring an additional 394,584 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder National Life Insuranc Lincoln bought 2,300,098 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $10.87 per share, for a total transaction of $25,002,065.26. Following the purchase, the insider owned 7,529,837 shares in the company, valued at $81,849,328.19. This represents a 43.98% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.46, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 206,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,104,239.14. This represents a 4.63% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 16,569 shares of company stock worth $627,484 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Lincoln National from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. National Bank Financial set a $45.00 price objective on Lincoln National in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on Lincoln National in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $52.00 target price on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.25.

Lincoln National Price Performance

NYSE LNC opened at $34.03 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $40.49 and its 200 day moving average is $41.17. Lincoln National Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $27.58 and a fifty-two week high of $46.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $6.47 billion, a PE ratio of 6.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.30.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.35. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.52% and a net margin of 6.46%.The business had revenue of $4.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.91 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.3%. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is currently 33.90%.

Lincoln National Profile

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.