Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $3.06 Million Position in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,126,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 70,838 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $3,064,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LYG. Brentview Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Simon Quick Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

LYG stock opened at $3.89 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $3.40 and a 200-day moving average of $3.05. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a fifty-two week low of $2.42 and a fifty-two week high of $3.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 1.25.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.76 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 11.45%. Equities analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.27 EPS for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Hsbc Global Res raised Lloyds Banking Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2.75.

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.