Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) Stock Holdings Boosted by Earnest Partners LLC

Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) by 28.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 54,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,939 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $147,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LYG. Virtu Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 325.7% in the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 184,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $577,000 after purchasing an additional 141,409 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the third quarter worth about $64,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the third quarter worth about $262,000. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 95.5% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 115,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 56,296 shares during the period. Finally, Logan Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 4.5% in the third quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,059,457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,306,000 after purchasing an additional 45,249 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE LYG opened at $3.97 on Tuesday. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a twelve month low of $2.55 and a twelve month high of $4.02. The company has a market capitalization of $60.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.03 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $3.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3.16.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.03). Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 11.45% and a return on equity of 8.46%. The firm had revenue of $9.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.76 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.1035 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is a positive change from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. This represents a yield of 4%. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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