O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 47.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 26,042 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $902,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LNC. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,951,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $54,189,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Lincoln National by 84.9% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,543,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,948,000 after purchasing an additional 708,584 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 190.9% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 741,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,508,000 after purchasing an additional 486,478 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter valued at $8,155,000. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Lincoln National from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays raised their target price 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. Evercore ISI boosted 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. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.45.

Lincoln National Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:LNC opened at $29.86 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $36.34 and a 200 day moving average of $34.16. The company has a market cap of $5.09 billion, a PE ratio of 1.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.56. Lincoln National Co. has a 12-month low of $25.80 and a 12-month high of $39.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

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

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.03%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.79%.

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.