KBC Group NV Trims Holdings in Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC)

KBC Group NV lessened its holdings in shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 91.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,017 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 78,719 shares during the period. KBC Group NV's holdings in Lincoln National were worth $252,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. M Holdings Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Lincoln National during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the first quarter worth $33,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company's stock.

Lincoln National Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of LNC stock traded up $0.75 on Tuesday, hitting $35.03. The stock had a trading volume of 2,805,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,674,181. The business has a 50 day moving average of $33.50 and a 200 day moving average of $33.89. The stock has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.25 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Lincoln National Corporation has a 12-month low of $27.58 and a 12-month high of $39.85.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. Lincoln National had a net margin of 7.00% and a return on equity of 18.71%. The company's revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.14%. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LNC. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lincoln National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $37.40.

Insider Activity at Lincoln National

In other Lincoln National news, EVP Brian Kroll sold 10,075 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.10, for a total transaction of $333,482.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 48,743 shares in the company, valued at $1,613,393.30. The trade was a 17.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean Woodroffe sold 43,622 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.78, for a total transaction of $1,429,929.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 154,102 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,051,463.56. The trade was a 22.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

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.