Qsemble Capital Management LP Cuts Stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Qsemble Capital Management LP lowered its position in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 21.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,353 shares during the quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $517,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of LNC. Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in Lincoln National by 106.7% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. purchased a new position in Lincoln National during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Lincoln National by 535.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Lincoln National by 95.3% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Lincoln National during the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

NYSE:LNC opened at $35.45 on Thursday. Lincoln National Co. has a twelve month low of $23.40 and a twelve month high of $36.98. The company has a market capitalization of $6.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $33.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.42. Lincoln National had a net margin of 2.51% and a return on equity of 18.15%. The company had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.61 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Lincoln National Co. will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.08%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 128.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 2,863 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total value of $103,068.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,587,184. This trade represents a 2.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LNC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.25.

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.