Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) Shares Sold by Sage Mountain Advisors LLC

Sage Mountain Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) by 14.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,843 shares during the quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $64,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 122,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 3,346 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 75,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $204,000 after buying an additional 3,420 shares during the period. Brio Consultants LLC grew its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 30.2% in the fourth quarter. Brio Consultants LLC now owns 16,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 3,880 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 30.8% in the third quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 3,969 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fielder Capital Group LLC grew its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 60,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 4,366 shares during the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

Shares of LYG opened at $3.63 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $55.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.99 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $3.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.00. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 1 year low of $2.42 and a 1 year high of $3.91.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.05 earnings per share (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 net margin of 11.45% and a return on equity of 8.46%. Equities analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on LYG. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.75.

Lloyds Banking Group 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.