Blair William & Co. IL Makes New Investment in Lloyds Banking Group PLC $LYG

Blair William & Co. IL acquired a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 14,699 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $62,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 24,154,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,269,000 after acquiring an additional 1,397,163 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 15.5% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 8,199,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,321,000 after buying an additional 1,100,359 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,492,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,083,000 after buying an additional 863,347 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 7,365.0% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 817,494 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,123,000 after buying an additional 806,543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,910,000. 2.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Down 0.3%

LYG opened at $4.49 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Lloyds Banking Group PLC has a twelve month low of $2.56 and a twelve month high of $4.69. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.20.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.86 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 17.51% and a return on equity of 9.28%. Analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group PLC will post 0.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th were issued a $0.0655 dividend. 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 (DPR) is currently 32.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LYG shares. Zacks Research cut Lloyds Banking Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Lloyds Banking Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.