Insider Selling: Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) EVP Sells 8,000 Shares of Stock

Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.74, for a total value of $261,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 198,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,487,725.66. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Sean Woodroffe also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, March 2nd, Sean Woodroffe sold 10,000 shares of Lincoln National stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.46, for a total transaction of $344,600.00.

Lincoln National Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE LNC traded up $0.05 during trading on Monday, reaching $34.09. 2,704,093 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,263,766. Lincoln National Corporation has a 12-month low of $27.58 and a 12-month high of $46.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.17.

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

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LNC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln National in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Lincoln National in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $52.00 target price for the company. National Bank Financial set a $45.00 price target on shares of Lincoln National in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Lincoln National from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $41.00 to $48.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Lincoln National from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.62.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,183,934 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Lincoln National by 145.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 116,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,683,000 after purchasing an additional 68,827 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Lincoln National by 30.3% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 203,931 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,180,000 after purchasing an additional 47,419 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in Lincoln National by 101.9% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 285,105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,498,000 after purchasing an additional 143,862 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,035,505 shares in the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.