Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) Shares Purchased by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) by 13.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 94,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,478 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 26,669,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,540,000 after acquiring an additional 2,713,559 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 58.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,659,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,778,000 after buying an additional 2,456,914 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,611,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,984,000 after buying an additional 604,924 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 5,601,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,236,000 after acquiring an additional 150,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $11,226,000. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of LYG opened at $3.91 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $59.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $3.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $3.14. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 12-month low of $2.51 and a 12-month high of $3.96.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) 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). The company had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $0.1035 per share. This is a positive change from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. This represents a dividend yield of 4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on LYG. Morgan Stanley raised 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 cut Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. HSBC upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lloyds Banking Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” 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.