Greenwood Capital Associates LLC Cuts Stock Position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Greenwood Capital Associates LLC trimmed its holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 673 shares during the period. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $1,190,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LNC. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Lincoln National by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,309,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $104,281,000 after buying an additional 223,129 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Lincoln National by 2.9% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 40,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,252,000 after purchasing an additional 1,121 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lincoln National by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 64,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 10,560 shares during the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the 4th quarter worth about $1,075,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Lincoln National by 4.7% during 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 buying an additional 152,622 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LNC opened at $33.97 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. Lincoln National Co. has a one year low of $25.09 and a one year high of $36.98. The firm has a market cap of $5.79 billion, a PE ratio of 24.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.79.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 128.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LNC. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Lincoln National from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lincoln National has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 2,863 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total transaction of $103,068.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,587,184. This trade represents a 2.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

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.