Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) Shares Sold by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV trimmed its position in shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 91.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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 SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the first quarter worth $33,000. M Holdings Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

Shares of LNC traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $34.76. 178,951 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,659,957. Lincoln National Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $27.58 and a fifty-two week high of $39.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.39. The business's 50 day moving average is $33.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Lincoln National had a net margin of 7.00% and a return on equity of 18.71%. The business had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Lincoln National's payout ratio is 25.57%.

Insider Activity at Lincoln National

In other Lincoln National news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian Kroll sold 10,075 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.10, for a total value of $333,482.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 48,743 shares in the company, valued at $1,613,393.30. The trade was a 17.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LNC. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Lincoln National from $36.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Lincoln National from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays increased their target price on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Lincoln National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $37.00.

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.