Cerity Partners LLC Increases Stake in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) by 76.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 205,484 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 89,059 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD raised its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 29,131,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,050,000 after buying an additional 2,336,000 shares during the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. raised its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 6,537,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,155,000 after buying an additional 52,395 shares during the last quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC raised its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC now owns 5,357,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,412,000 after buying an additional 56,406 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 5,281,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,250,000 after buying an additional 735,219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,280,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,118,000 after buying an additional 209,486 shares during the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on LYG shares. Bank of America raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Berenberg Bank assumed coverage on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating and a $2.75 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.39.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LYG opened at $2.52 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.30, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.32. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 12 month low of $1.88 and a 12 month high of $2.72. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 17.97% and a return on equity of 11.29%. The business had revenue of $19.05 billion for the quarter. Analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a $0.046 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a yield of 5.9%. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.00%.

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.