Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) Stock Holdings Lowered by Semmax Financial Advisors Inc.

Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 779,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 16,048 shares during the quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $2,319,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $256,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 18,625,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,528,000 after purchasing an additional 439,009 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 223,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $534,000 after buying an additional 13,956 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,505,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,599,000 after buying an additional 7,363 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LYG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Kepler Capital Markets assumed coverage on Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup cut Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lloyds Banking Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2.75.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group stock opened at $3.09 on Tuesday. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 12-month low of $1.88 and a 12-month high of $3.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $3.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.13 and a beta of 1.35.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 10.34%. The business had revenue of $9.55 billion for the quarter. Equities analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were 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 was Monday, August 5th. This represents a yield of 4.4%. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

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.