Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) Shares Sold by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) by 15.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,754,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,103,335 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.14% of Lloyds Banking Group worth $59,172,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LYG. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter worth about $11,226,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 26,669,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,540,000 after purchasing an additional 2,713,559 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 14.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,280,034 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,154,000 after purchasing an additional 2,472,263 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 58.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,659,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,778,000 after purchasing an additional 2,456,914 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,440,000. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on LYG shares. Morgan Stanley raised Lloyds Banking Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2.75.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

LYG stock opened at $3.83 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $3.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.07. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.76 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 11.45% and a return on equity of 8.46%. As a group, analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

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

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.