Bank of New York Mellon Corp Grows Stock Holdings in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 801,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,945 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $2,181,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 34,693 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 7,757 shares during the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 134.7% in the 4th quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 87,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 50,020 shares in the last quarter. Ativo Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $678,000. Crumly & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 31.9% in the 4th quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 33,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 8,042 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Alliance boosted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 114,591 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 5,472 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LYG opened at $3.74 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $3.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 1.25. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 12 month low of $2.42 and a 12 month high of $3.91.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $9.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.76 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 11.45%. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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 disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $0.1035 per share. This is an increase from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. This represents a dividend yield of 4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. Lloyds Banking Group’s payout ratio is currently 60.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on LYG shares. 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 report on Tuesday, March 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.