Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Stock Gets Price Target Reduction from Wells Fargo & Company

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) had its price target reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $54.00 to $53.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on LNC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Lincoln National from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.58.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

LNC stock traded up $0.20 on Thursday, reaching $42.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,168,164 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,076,738. Lincoln National has a 52 week low of $32.18 and a 52 week high of $47.67. The company has a market capitalization of $8.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $41.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.25 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.96 by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $5.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.97 billion. Lincoln National had a net margin of 16.36% and a return on equity of 17.02%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.04 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Lincoln National will post 7.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 11th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 11th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is 11.12%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP James Reid sold 52,434 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.26, for a total transaction of $2,058,558.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 129,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,085,465.58. This trade represents a 28.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 17,500 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.24, for a total value of $704,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 103,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,156,631.04. The trade was a 14.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 98,914 shares of company stock worth $4,024,989 over the last 90 days. 1.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln National

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LNC. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in Lincoln National during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln National in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. acquired a new position in Lincoln National in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Latitude Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National in the third quarter valued at $61,000. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Lincoln National

Lincoln National Corporation, operating as Lincoln Financial Group, is a financial services and insurance company whose businesses focus on protecting income and helping individuals and employers plan for financial needs. Its offerings include life insurance, annuities, workplace benefits and retirement plan services. The company serves individuals, employers and retirement plan participants primarily in the United States. Its workplace protection products include benefits such as disability and life insurance, while its retirement services support employers and employees with workplace savings plans.