Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Increases Stock Holdings in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG - Free Report) by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,669,053 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,713,559 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.18% of Lloyds Banking Group worth $72,540,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,280,034 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $60,154,000 after buying an additional 2,472,263 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 58.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,659,629 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $20,778,000 after acquiring an additional 2,456,914 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,611,908 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $17,984,000 after purchasing an additional 604,924 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 5,601,459 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,236,000 after purchasing an additional 150,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter valued at $11,226,000. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Down 7.8 %

Lloyds Banking Group stock traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $3.39. The stock had a trading volume of 30,302,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,585,830. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $3.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.08. The company has a market capitalization of $51.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.26 and a beta of 1.25. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 12 month low of $2.42 and a 12 month high of $3.91.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.05 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $9.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.76 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.1035 per share. This is a boost from Lloyds Banking Group's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. This represents a dividend yield of 4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. Lloyds Banking Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.61%.

Lloyds Banking Group Profile

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.