Ballentine Partners LLC Acquires 20,583 Shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) by 19.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 126,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,583 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $345,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 9.2% during the first quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,060,740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,517,000 after buying an additional 343,753 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC grew its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 94.4% during the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 41,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 20,270 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 166.2% in the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 47,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 29,486 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 473,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after purchasing an additional 37,556 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 149.9% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 29,696,591 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $70,975,000 after purchasing an additional 17,814,615 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE:LYG opened at $3.04 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.45. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 52-week low of $1.88 and a 52-week high of $3.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.00 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $2.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $2.76.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $9.55 billion during the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 12.40%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.0546 per share. This is an increase from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 5th. This represents a dividend yield of 4.4%. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LYG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Kepler Capital Markets initiated coverage on Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup lowered Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.38.

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.