First Eagle Investment Management LLC Acquires 150,178 Shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG - Free Report) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,601,459 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 150,178 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC's holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $15,236,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of LYG. Brentview Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Simon Quick Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 2.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

Shares of LYG stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $3.71. The company had a trading volume of 22,153,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,681,023. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $3.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.01. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a one year low of $2.42 and a one year high of $3.91. The firm has a market cap of $56.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.23 and a beta of 1.25.

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Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.76 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 11.45% and a return on equity of 8.46%. Equities research analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.27 EPS for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $0.1035 per share. This represents a yield of 4%. This is a positive change from Lloyds Banking Group's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. Lloyds Banking Group's payout ratio is 60.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LYG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $2.75.

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.