Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,144,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 164,804 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $99,717,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Lincoln National by 535.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Lincoln National by 95.3% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Lincoln National in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Lincoln National in the third quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Lincoln National in the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Lincoln National stock opened at $38.99 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $6.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.79. Lincoln National Co. has a fifty-two week low of $25.60 and a fifty-two week high of $39.85. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $33.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.79.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays boosted their price target on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Lincoln National from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lincoln National presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.40.

About Lincoln National

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.