Blue Trust Inc. Sells 80,063 Shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Blue Trust Inc. lessened its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG - Free Report) by 37.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 131,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 80,063 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $357,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 952,249 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,971,000 after buying an additional 129,940 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 37.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,416,484 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,659,000 after buying an additional 929,478 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 41.6% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 105,295 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $329,000 after acquiring an additional 30,944 shares during the period. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the third quarter worth $63,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 65,320 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $204,000 after acquiring an additional 3,734 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.15% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Morgan Stanley cut shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $2.75.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

LYG stock traded up $0.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $3.37. 16,670,706 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,271,842. The company has a 50-day moving average of $2.90 and a 200-day moving average of $2.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.11 billion, a PE ratio of 8.63 and a beta of 1.31. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 1 year low of $2.25 and a 1 year high of $3.40.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.03). Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 10.89% and a return on equity of 9.81%. The firm had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.76 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.33 EPS for the current year.

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.