Lloyds Banking Group PLC $LYG Shares Purchased by Assetmark Inc.

Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) by 12.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,849,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 433,849 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $19,365,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 41.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,134,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,690,000 after purchasing an additional 622,061 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. bought a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the first quarter valued at about $1,906,000. BTC Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,846,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 81.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 139,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $595,000 after buying an additional 62,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 1,394.8% in the 4th quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 493,442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,615,000 after acquiring an additional 460,431 shares in the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LYG. Weiss Ratings downgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Thursday. UBS Group upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Berenberg Bank began coverage on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

LYG opened at $5.97 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09. The business’s 50 day moving average is $5.59 and its 200-day moving average is $5.50. The stock has a market cap of $87.38 billion, a PE ratio of 13.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.87. Lloyds Banking Group PLC has a twelve month low of $4.05 and a twelve month high of $6.34.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 10.63% and a net margin of 25.11%. On average, analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group PLC will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current year.

About Lloyds Banking Group

Lloyds Banking Group plc is a UK-based banking and financial services company that provides a broad range of retail, commercial and insurance products. Its principal consumer-facing brands include Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, through which it offers current accounts, savings, mortgages, credit cards and personal loans. The group also delivers services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and larger corporate clients, supplying business accounts, lending, payments and cash-management solutions.

In addition to core banking, Lloyds operates a significant wealth and insurance arm under the Scottish Widows brand, offering life insurance, pensions, investment and retirement planning products.