Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Reduces Stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 65.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 767,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,483,958 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.45% of Lincoln National worth $24,519,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at about $54,026,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Lincoln National by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,688,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $584,943,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094,789 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the 1st quarter worth about $28,649,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Lincoln National by 2,549.8% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 719,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,413,000 after buying an additional 692,637 shares during the period. Finally, Algebris UK Ltd increased its position in Lincoln National by 122.3% during the first quarter. Algebris UK Ltd now owns 860,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,467,000 after buying an additional 473,371 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Stock Up 1.5 %

LNC traded up $0.50 on Tuesday, reaching $33.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,521,547 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,703,161. The stock has a market cap of $5.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.84. Lincoln National Co. has a 1 year low of $20.85 and a 1 year high of $33.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.26 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The business’s 50 day moving average is $31.93 and its 200 day moving average is $29.52.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 19.50% and a net margin of 11.31%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lincoln National Co. will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.36%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.62%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 55,127 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.57, for a total transaction of $1,795,486.39. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,457,165.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on LNC. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Lincoln National from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Bank of America cut their price target on Lincoln National from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Lincoln National from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.18.

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.