Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Sells 5,423 Shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 115,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,423 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.07% of Lincoln National worth $3,664,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln National in the 4th quarter worth approximately $571,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 84.9% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,543,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,948,000 after purchasing an additional 708,584 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the fourth quarter worth $745,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the 4th quarter valued at $76,951,000. Finally, Easterly Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 641,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,336,000 after buying an additional 12,976 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on LNC. Evercore ISI raised 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Lincoln National from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Barclays upped their price target on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lincoln National presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.40.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Lincoln National stock opened at $36.01 on Wednesday. Lincoln National Co. has a 52-week low of $25.80 and a 52-week high of $39.85. The company has a market cap of $6.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.96, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.76. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $36.41 and its 200 day moving average is $34.10. 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 (NYSE:LNC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.04. Lincoln National had a net margin of 17.76% and a return on equity of 18.47%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Lincoln National’s payout ratio is 9.79%.

Lincoln National Company 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.