KBC Group NV Decreases Stock Holdings in Lincoln National Corporation $LNC

KBC Group NV reduced its holdings in Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) by 28.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,011 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $173,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln National during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in shares of Lincoln National by 82.9% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in Lincoln National during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Lincoln National by 3,927.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 1,453 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional lifted its position in Lincoln National by 354.2% in the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,685 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 1,314 shares during the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Lincoln National stock opened at $39.91 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market cap of $7.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $40.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.53. Lincoln National Corporation has a 1 year low of $27.58 and a 1 year high of $43.66.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.80 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 19.14% and a net margin of 6.34%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.06 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Lincoln National Corporation will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln National Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.16%.

Insider Activity at Lincoln National

In other news, Director Owen Ryan acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $42.17 per share, for a total transaction of $84,340.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 12,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $506,040. The trade was a 20.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LNC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln National from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Cfra Research raised shares of Lincoln National to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Lincoln National from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln National in a report on Thursday, November 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.82.

Lincoln National 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.