Natixis Advisors LLC Boosts Position in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,474,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 17,387 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $4,010,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LYG. Brentview Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Simon Quick Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on LYG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley raised Lloyds Banking Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2.75.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE LYG opened at $3.74 on Friday. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 12 month low of $2.42 and a 12 month high of $3.91. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.73 billion, a PE ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 1.25.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $0.1035 dividend. This represents a yield of 4%. This is an increase from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. Lloyds Banking Group’s payout ratio is 60.61%.

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.