Virtu Financial LLC decreased its position in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG - Free Report) by 88.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 20,931 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 163,898 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC's holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $57,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 339.7% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 58,688 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $183,000 after buying an additional 45,341 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 20.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,055,584 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,293,000 after acquiring an additional 180,178 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 58.3% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,703,943 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,316,000 after acquiring an additional 627,592 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 73.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 687,833 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,146,000 after purchasing an additional 290,927 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 2,472,263 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.15% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on LYG shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. HSBC raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Lloyds Banking Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Lloyds Banking Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lloyds Banking Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $2.75.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on LYG
Lloyds Banking Group Trading Down 4.6 %
Shares of Lloyds Banking Group stock traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $3.67. The stock had a trading volume of 40,227,216 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,492,599. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.11 and a beta of 1.25. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 1 year low of $2.42 and a 1 year high of $3.91. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.08.
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 the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.76 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 11.45%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.27 EPS for the current year.
Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $0.1035 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from Lloyds Banking Group's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. This represents a dividend yield of 4%. Lloyds Banking Group's dividend payout ratio is 60.61%.
Lloyds Banking Group Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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