Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) Shares Sold by Semmax Financial Advisors Inc.

Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 779,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 16,048 shares during the period. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $2,319,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup lowered shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. BNP Paribas upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 5th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.75.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

LYG stock opened at $3.09 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $48.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.13 and a beta of 1.35. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.80. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a fifty-two week low of $1.88 and a fifty-two week high of $3.14.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter. Sell-side analysts predict 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 disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a $0.0546 dividend. This is a positive change 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 is 26.32%.

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.