Lincoln National Corporation $LNC Shares Sold by Citigroup Inc.

Citigroup Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 45.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 195,685 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 161,895 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.11% of Lincoln National worth $7,027,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its position in Lincoln National by 383.2% during the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 749 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 594 shares during the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in Lincoln National during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Lincoln National during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new stake in Lincoln National during the first quarter valued at $66,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Lincoln National by 40.5% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,957 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 853 shares during the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln National Stock Up 3.6%

NYSE LNC traded up $1.4750 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $42.1250. 361,260 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,954,015. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.26 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $7.99 billion, a PE ratio of 7.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.42. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $35.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.84. Lincoln National Corporation has a 52 week low of $27.58 and a 52 week high of $42.36.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $4.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.65 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 19.14% and a net margin of 6.34%.During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.87 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.41%.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln National

In other Lincoln National news, EVP Brian Kroll sold 10,075 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was 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 owned 48,743 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,613,393.30. The trade was a 17.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 5,000 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.29, for a total value of $196,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 123,815 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,864,691.35. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 58,697 shares of company stock valued at $1,959,862 in the last quarter. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on LNC shares. National Bankshares set a $41.00 price target on Lincoln National in a research report on Monday. Barclays upped their price objective on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Lincoln National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lincoln National has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.70.

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.