CIBC Asset Management Inc Sells 3,613 Shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

CIBC Asset Management Inc trimmed its holdings in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 54,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,613 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $1,727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Lincoln National during the 4th quarter worth $54,189,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 3,488.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 966,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,669,000 after purchasing an additional 939,447 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Lincoln National by 167.7% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 600,212 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,913,000 after purchasing an additional 375,989 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Lincoln National by 7.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,309,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $104,281,000 after purchasing an additional 223,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in Lincoln National by 9.7% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,355,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,206,000 after buying an additional 207,800 shares during the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LNC. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.10.

Lincoln National Price Performance

LNC stock opened at $37.55 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $33.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.93. Lincoln National Co. has a 1 year low of $25.60 and a 1 year high of $39.85. The stock has a market cap of $6.40 billion, a PE ratio of 2.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.04. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 17.76%. Equities analysts forecast that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.79%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.79%.

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.