Easterly Investment Partners LLC Sells 36,614 Shares of Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

Easterly Investment Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 481,284 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 36,614 shares during the period. Lincoln National makes up 1.3% of Easterly Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Easterly Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $21,432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the 1st quarter worth approximately $241,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 30.9% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 71,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,585,000 after acquiring an additional 16,991 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 316.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 59,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,123,000 after acquiring an additional 44,936 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 623,322 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,383,000 after acquiring an additional 29,421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 39.1% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 19,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $701,000 after acquiring an additional 5,486 shares in the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Lincoln National

In other news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 8,000 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.74, for a total transaction of $261,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 198,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,487,725.66. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $41.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $43.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 9th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective on shares of Lincoln National in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Lincoln National from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Lincoln National from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.00.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of Lincoln National stock opened at $35.30 on Monday. Lincoln National Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $31.69 and a fifty-two week high of $46.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.25 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $35.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.93.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.08. Lincoln National had a net margin of 9.17% and a return on equity of 18.07%. The firm had revenue of $4.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.60 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 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 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.88%.

Lincoln National Profile

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.