Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) Shares Bought by Invesco Ltd.

Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) by 38.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 206,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 57,562 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd.’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $563,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brentview Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Hsbc Global Res raised Lloyds Banking Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. HSBC upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Lloyds Banking Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lloyds Banking Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LYG opened at $3.76 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $56.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.39 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s fifty day moving average is $3.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.18. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 12-month low of $2.56 and a 12-month high of $4.00.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.03. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 11.45%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.78 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $0.1035 per share. 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 yield of 4%. Lloyds Banking Group’s payout ratio is presently 60.61%.

Lloyds Banking Group Company 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.