Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Sells 276,214 Shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG - Free Report) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,629,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 276,214 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned 0.06% of Lloyds Banking Group worth $26,192,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 26,669,053 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $72,540,000 after acquiring an additional 2,713,559 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 58.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,659,629 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $20,778,000 after purchasing an additional 2,456,914 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 2.8% in 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 buying an additional 150,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter valued at $11,226,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.15% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LYG. HSBC raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Hsbc Global Res raised Lloyds Banking Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Lloyds Banking Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Seven equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lloyds Banking Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $2.75.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Up 0.1 %

LYG stock traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $3.77. 24,840,045 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,761,970. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a twelve month low of $2.49 and a twelve month high of $3.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.12.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.27 EPS for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The business 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 an increase from Lloyds Banking Group's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 4%. Lloyds Banking Group's payout ratio is presently 60.61%.

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.