D.A. Davidson & CO. Sells 2,755 Shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

D.A. Davidson & CO. cut its stake in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,755 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 535.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Lincoln National by 95.3% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Lincoln National during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Lincoln National in the fourth quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Lincoln National by 459.9% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 1,711 shares during the period. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.10.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LNC opened at $37.42 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.04. Lincoln National Co. has a 1-year low of $25.60 and a 1-year high of $39.85. The stock has a market cap of $6.37 billion, a PE ratio of 2.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.79.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is 9.79%.

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.