Ritholtz Wealth Management Buys 252,365 Shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,478,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 252,365 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $4,614,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the second quarter valued at $36,252,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 9.2% during the first quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,060,740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,517,000 after buying an additional 343,753 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 166.2% during the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 47,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 29,486 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 37.9% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 71,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $194,000 after acquiring an additional 19,525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aprio Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 71.5% during the 1st quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 47,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 19,857 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LYG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup downgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed 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, Kepler Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2.75.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:LYG traded up $0.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $3.11. 6,196,796 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,616,543. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. The firm has a market cap of $48.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.18 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $3.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2.85. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 1-year low of $1.88 and a 1-year high of $3.18.

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

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 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 yield of 4.4%. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

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.