GAMMA Investing LLC Sells 1,021 Shares of Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

GAMMA Investing LLC decreased its position in shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,817 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,021 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Lincoln National by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,854,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,335,000 after purchasing an additional 97,600 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Lincoln National by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,084,433 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $110,753,000 after purchasing an additional 208,114 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Lincoln National by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,566,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $92,155,000 after purchasing an additional 146,667 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Lincoln National by 84.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,041,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,039,000 after purchasing an additional 935,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Lincoln National by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,597,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,381,000 after purchasing an additional 5,936 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

NYSE LNC opened at $40.61 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.64. Lincoln National Corporation has a 12-month low of $27.58 and a 12-month high of $43.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $7.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.09, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.48.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.45. Lincoln National had a net margin of 6.34% and a return on equity of 19.14%. The business had revenue of $4.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.87 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Lincoln National to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lincoln National from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Lincoln National to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Lincoln National in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.45.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln National

In other Lincoln National news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 5,000 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.29, for a total transaction of $196,450.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 123,815 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,864,691.35. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.51% of the stock is 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.