New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 18,374 Shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its stake in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 12.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 125,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 18,374 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.07% of Lincoln National worth $3,387,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LNC. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of Lincoln National by 4.2% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 145,591 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,595,000 after buying an additional 5,898 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln National during the 3rd quarter worth about $212,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Lincoln National by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 70,926 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,751,000 after acquiring an additional 5,125 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 47.4% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 35,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $889,000 after purchasing an additional 11,578 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,468,971 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,269,000 after purchasing an additional 289,733 shares in the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln National Trading Up 4.3 %

Shares of Lincoln National stock opened at $28.10 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 1.80. Lincoln National Co. has a 52-week low of $18.50 and a 52-week high of $32.43. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.58.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.13. Lincoln National had a net margin of 11.31% and a return on equity of 19.50%. The company had revenue of $1.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lincoln National Co. will post 6.25 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Owen Ryan purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.90 per share, for a total transaction of $259,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $259,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LNC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Lincoln National from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Lincoln National from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Lincoln National from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.45.

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.