Blue Trust Inc. Increases Holdings in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) by 61.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 98,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 37,341 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 343,753 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 94.4% in the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 41,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 20,270 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 166.2% during the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 47,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 29,486 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 309,779 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $740,000 after acquiring an additional 12,334 shares during the period. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 168.3% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 124,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 77,886 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

NYSE:LYG opened at $3.02 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $47.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.95 and a beta of 1.35. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 1-year low of $1.88 and a 1-year high of $3.13. The business has a 50 day moving average of $2.89 and a 200 day moving average of $2.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

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

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.0546 per share. This is a positive change from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 5th. This represents a dividend yield of 4.4%. Lloyds Banking Group’s payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LYG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Berenberg Bank began coverage on Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $2.75 target price for the company. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 5th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lloyds Banking Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.38.

Lloyds Banking Group Company 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.