Victory Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stake in Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 817,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 49,091 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $32,972,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the third quarter worth $32,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in Lincoln National during the third quarter valued at $39,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln National by 372.1% in the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 867 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HM Payson & Co. lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 37.2% in the 3rd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 1,291 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Lincoln National news, EVP James Waltman Reid sold 3,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.81, for a total value of $127,520.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 118,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,957,286.27. This trade represents a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder National Life Insuranc Lincoln bought 2,300,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $10.87 per share, with a total value of $25,002,065.26. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,529,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,849,328.19. This trade represents a 43.98% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 16,569 shares of company stock valued at $627,484 in the last quarter. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of Lincoln National stock opened at $34.03 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $6.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $40.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.17. Lincoln National Corporation has a one year low of $27.58 and a one year high of $46.82.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $4.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.85 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.52% and a net margin of 6.46%.Lincoln National’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.91 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. National Bank Financial set a $45.00 price objective on Lincoln National in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Lincoln National from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Lincoln National from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised Lincoln National from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $41.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Lincoln National from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.25.

About Lincoln National

Lincoln National Corporation, doing business as Lincoln Financial Group, is a diversified financial services holding company focused on providing retirement, insurance, and wealth management solutions in the United States and select international markets. Headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, the company operates through several business segments, including Retirement Plan Services, Life Insurance, and Group Protection. Its offerings are designed to help individuals, families, and institutions plan and prepare for their financial futures.

The Retirement Plan Services segment delivers recordkeeping, administrative services, and investment management for defined contribution and defined benefit plans.