Clearbridge Investments LLC Takes $36.25 Million Position in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Clearbridge Investments LLC acquired a new position in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 13,279,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $36,252,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LYG. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Interchange Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Intergy Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. 2.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:LYG opened at $3.00 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $3.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.83. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a fifty-two week low of $1.88 and a fifty-two week high of $3.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.81 billion, a PE ratio of 7.88 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a $0.0546 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 4.4%. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup downgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Kepler Capital Markets initiated coverage on Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 5th. Finally, 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lloyds Banking Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2.75.

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.