California Public Employees Retirement System Decreases Stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its holdings in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 228,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,686 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.13% of Lincoln National worth $6,171,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Security Financial Services INC. boosted its stake in Lincoln National by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Security Financial Services INC. now owns 8,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust grew its position in Lincoln National by 3.9% in the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 12,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 468 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Lincoln National by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC raised its position in Lincoln National by 1.6% in the third quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 34,732 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $858,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 47.0% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 571 shares during the period. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

NYSE:LNC opened at $28.10 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a PE ratio of 3.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.17 and a beta of 1.80. 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 fifty day moving average price is $28.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.56. Lincoln National Co. has a 12 month low of $18.50 and a 12 month high of $32.43.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 19.50% and a net margin of 11.31%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lincoln National Co. will post 6.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.41%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is 24.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Lincoln National from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Lincoln National from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $29.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.45.

Insider Activity at Lincoln National

In related news, Director Owen Ryan acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $25.90 per share, for a total transaction of $259,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $259,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

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.