Renaissance Technologies LLC Buys 309,840 Shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG - Free Report) by 68.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 762,340 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 309,840 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC's holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $2,074,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 38.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 206,990 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $563,000 after buying an additional 57,562 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 94,021 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 11,478 shares in the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter valued at $579,000. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $422,000. Finally, Pitcairn Co. lifted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 77,115 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 5,003 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 2.15% of the company's stock.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

NYSE LYG traded up $0.03 on Tuesday, hitting $3.99. 21,254,776 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,098,972. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a twelve month low of $2.55 and a twelve month high of $4.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.09 and a beta of 0.95. The company's 50 day moving average price is $3.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.16.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 11.45% and a return on equity of 8.46%. The firm had revenue of $9.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $0.1035 dividend. 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 yield of 4%. Lloyds Banking Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on LYG. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. HSBC upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Lloyds Banking Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lloyds Banking Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

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.