Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) Shares Bought by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG - Free Report) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,611,908 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 604,924 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $17,984,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LYG. Brentview Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Simon Quick Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.15% of the company's stock.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Down 7.8 %

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group stock traded down $0.29 during trading on Friday, hitting $3.39. 36,345,257 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,664,159. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $3.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.08. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 52-week low of $2.42 and a 52-week high of $3.91. The firm has a market cap of $51.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.26 and a beta of 1.25.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.03). Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 11.45%. The business had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.76 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.27 EPS for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $0.1035 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from Lloyds Banking Group's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. This represents a yield of 4%. Lloyds Banking Group's payout ratio is currently 60.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Lloyds Banking Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $2.75.

About Lloyds Banking Group

Lloyds Banking Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides a range of banking and financial services in the United Kingdom and internationally. It operates in three segments: Retail; Commercial Banking; and Insurance, Pensions and Investments. The Retail segment offers a range of financial service products, including current accounts, savings, mortgages, motor finance, unsecured loans, leasing solutions, and credit cards to personal customers.