Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Shares Down 7.9% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) dropped 7.9% during mid-day trading on Monday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $54.00 to $50.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Lincoln National traded as low as $37.29 and last traded at $36.7540. Approximately 408,177 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 1,845,262 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.90.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on LNC. Zacks Research cut Lincoln National from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Lincoln National from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Lincoln National in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 3,519 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.15, for a total transaction of $155,363.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 118,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,253,187.75. This represents a 2.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP James Waltman Reid sold 3,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.81, for a total transaction of $127,520.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 118,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,957,286.27. The trade was a 2.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln National

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,903,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $802,717,000 after buying an additional 1,183,934 shares during the last quarter. Bain Capital Prairie LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln National during the fourth quarter valued at about $835,360,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Lincoln National by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,233,327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $277,574,000 after purchasing an additional 502,600 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Lincoln National by 0.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,199,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $214,504,000 after purchasing an additional 40,676 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 21.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,952,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $240,051,000 after purchasing an additional 1,035,505 shares in the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln National Trading Down 0.3%

The company has a market cap of $6.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $42.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.47.

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

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is 33.90%.

Lincoln National Company 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.