Hennessy Advisors Inc. Reduces Position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. decreased its position in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 8.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,556,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 152,200 shares during the quarter. Lincoln National accounts for 1.9% of Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $55,901,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Lincoln National by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 330,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,488,000 after purchasing an additional 41,533 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Lincoln National by 20,127.5% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 316,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,051,000 after purchasing an additional 315,398 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,050,000. Amundi raised its holdings in Lincoln National by 92.0% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 119,294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,747,000 after purchasing an additional 57,152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keystone Financial Group raised its holdings in Lincoln National by 462.6% during the fourth quarter. Keystone Financial Group now owns 59,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,888,000 after purchasing an additional 48,969 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays upped their price target on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Lincoln National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.82.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LNC opened at $32.43 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $32.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Lincoln National Co. has a 12-month low of $27.58 and a 12-month high of $39.85. The company has a market cap of $5.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 1.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.40.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.06. Lincoln National had a net margin of 17.76% and a return on equity of 18.47%. The company had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lincoln National news, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 43,622 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.78, for a total value of $1,429,929.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 154,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,051,463.56. The trade was a 22.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Brian Kroll sold 10,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.10, for a total value of $333,482.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 48,743 shares in the company, valued at $1,613,393.30. This trade represents a 17.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lincoln National Profile

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.