Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P. Sells 23,997 Shares of Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

Key Points

• Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P. reduced its stake in Lincoln National Corporation by 49.4%, now holding 24,553 shares worth approximately $882,000 after selling 23,997 shares.
• In the first quarter, other institutional investors, including Millennium Management LLC and AQR Capital Management LLC, significantly increased their holdings in Lincoln National, with increases of 206.6% and 84.5% respectively.
• Lincoln National Corporation's recent quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, reporting $2.36 EPS against a consensus of $1.91, despite revenue falling short at $4.04 billion compared to the expected $4.65 billion.

Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P. reduced its position in Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 49.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,553 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 23,997 shares during the quarter. Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P.'s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Petrus Trust Company LTA lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 12.8% during the first quarter. Petrus Trust Company LTA now owns 16,124 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $579,000 after acquiring an additional 1,829 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 206.6% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,176,613 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,252,000 after acquiring an additional 792,907 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 30.9% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 71,981 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,585,000 after acquiring an additional 16,991 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 84.5% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,041,928 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $72,039,000 after acquiring an additional 935,225 shares during the period. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 14.7% during the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,093 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $434,000 after acquiring an additional 1,554 shares during the period. 72.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln National Trading Up 0.5%

LNC stock traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $42.37. The stock had a trading volume of 444,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,939,568. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $8.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.40, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.48. Lincoln National Corporation has a twelve month low of $27.58 and a twelve month high of $43.66.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.36 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $4.65 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 19.14% and a net margin of 6.34%.During the same period last year, the company earned $1.87 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John Christopher Kennedy sold 5,000 shares of Lincoln National stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.29, for a total value of $196,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 123,815 shares in the company, valued at $4,864,691.35. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LNC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Lincoln National from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. National Bankshares set a $41.00 price objective on Lincoln National in a report on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Lincoln National in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Lincoln National from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $39.70.

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.