Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) Shares Sold by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC lessened its holdings in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,229,945 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 43,115 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 1.31% of Lincoln National worth $70,600,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Lincoln National during the fourth quarter worth $76,951,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National during the 4th quarter worth $54,189,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Lincoln National by 84.9% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,543,624 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $48,948,000 after purchasing an additional 708,584 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in Lincoln National by 190.9% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 741,330 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $23,508,000 after purchasing an additional 486,478 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Lincoln National by 53.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,258,512 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,907,000 after purchasing an additional 436,462 shares in the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln National Stock Down 2.6 %

LNC stock traded down $0.83 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $31.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 406,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,619,875. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 1.73, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Lincoln National Co. has a 52-week low of $25.80 and a 52-week high of $39.85.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.04. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 17.76%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Lincoln National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LNC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Lincoln National from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Lincoln National from $42.00 to $32.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln National currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $35.91.

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.