Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) Shares Sold by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its position in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) by 65.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,311,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,348,626 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $6,286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,611,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,984,000 after acquiring an additional 604,924 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 5,601,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,236,000 after purchasing an additional 150,178 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,226,000. Bard Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,426,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,600,000 after buying an additional 13,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,372,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,454,000 after buying an additional 411,616 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on LYG shares. HSBC upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lloyds Banking Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $2.75.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of LYG opened at $3.77 on Friday. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 52-week low of $2.49 and a 52-week high of $3.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $3.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.12. The company has a market capitalization of $57.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.95.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.03). Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 11.45% and a return on equity of 8.46%. The company had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.76 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $0.1035 dividend. This is an increase from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. This represents a dividend yield of 4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. Lloyds Banking Group’s payout ratio is presently 60.61%.

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.