QRG Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Lloyds Banking Group PLC $LYG

QRG Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) by 8.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,186,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 204,099 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $9,294,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LYG. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 119.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 125,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 68,064 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 374.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 219,814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $840,000 after acquiring an additional 173,496 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 70.0% during the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 19,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 8,057 shares in the last quarter. Breakwater Capital Group lifted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 21,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 3,153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 38.1% during the 1st quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 42,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $161,000 after acquiring an additional 11,588 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

LYG stock opened at $4.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market cap of $68.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.02. Lloyds Banking Group PLC has a 12-month low of $2.56 and a 12-month high of $4.63. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.15.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.86 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 9.28% and a net margin of 17.51%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group PLC will post 0.27 EPS for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were given a dividend of $0.0655 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 370.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LYG has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Lloyds Banking Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lloyds Banking Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.