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

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) by 234.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 11,105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,783 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $27,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Optiver Holding B.V. increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $14,155,000 after purchasing an additional 52,395 shares in the last quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $11,412,000 after purchasing an additional 56,406 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $11,250,000 after purchasing an additional 735,219 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $9,118,000 after purchasing an additional 209,486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,986,428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,491,000 after purchasing an additional 228,359 shares in the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on LYG shares. Bank of America raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Thursday, May 9th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Berenberg Bank started coverage on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Thursday, April 25th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $2.75 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.55.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LYG opened at $2.75 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $43.46 billion, a PE ratio of 7.24, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $2.62 and a 200 day moving average of $2.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a one year low of $1.88 and a one year high of $2.87.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 10.35%. The company had revenue of $14.35 billion during the quarter. As a group, research analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.046 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. Lloyds Banking Group’s payout ratio is 47.37%.

About Lloyds Banking Group

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.