Access Investment Management LLC Sells 5,000 Shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Access Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 196,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,000 shares during the quarter. Lincoln National makes up about 1.8% of Access Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Access Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Lincoln National worth $6,231,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 7.1% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 21,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $691,000 after buying an additional 1,451 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 535.5% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 159,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,038,000 after acquiring an additional 4,005 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Lincoln National by 4,737.9% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 98,887 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,116,000 after purchasing an additional 96,843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Lincoln National during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of LNC opened at $37.55 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $33.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.95. 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 capitalization of $6.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.79. Lincoln National Co. has a 12-month low of $25.60 and a 12-month high of $39.85.

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

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is 9.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on LNC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.10.

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.