Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) Shares Sold by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can decreased its position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 85.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 48,105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 277,703 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $1,525,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Lincoln National by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,373,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $106,322,000 after acquiring an additional 152,622 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Lincoln National by 7.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,309,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,281,000 after purchasing an additional 223,129 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at about $76,951,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Lincoln National during the 4th quarter valued at about $54,189,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 84.9% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,543,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,948,000 after acquiring an additional 708,584 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of LNC opened at $30.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a PE ratio of 1.65, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.56. Lincoln National Co. has a twelve month low of $25.80 and a twelve month high of $39.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $35.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.03.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its earnings results 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, research analysts expect that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.95%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LNC shares. Barclays boosted their target price on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Lincoln National from $42.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Lincoln National from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.91.

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.