Independent Advisor Alliance Has $204,000 Position in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,420 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $204,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LYG. Brentview Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Simon Quick Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on LYG shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lloyds Banking Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2.75.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Up 1.5 %

LYG opened at $3.75 on Thursday. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 1-year low of $2.42 and a 1-year high of $3.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.88 billion, a PE ratio of 11.35 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $3.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.02.

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

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $0.1035 dividend. This is a boost from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a yield of 4%. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.61%.

Lloyds Banking Group Company 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.