Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Has $2.28 Million Stake in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) by 30.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 836,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 192,994 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $2,283,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LYG. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD grew its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 39.2% during the first quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 89,948,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $232,967,000 after buying an additional 25,351,270 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 149.9% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 29,696,591 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $70,975,000 after purchasing an additional 17,814,615 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Services LLC raised its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 96.9% in the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 21,147,627 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,966,000 after purchasing an additional 10,406,673 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 195.8% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 2,833,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,875,688 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 114.5% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,487,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,790,000 after buying an additional 1,327,589 shares in the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LYG. 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. Kepler Capital Markets started coverage on Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Citigroup downgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.38.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

Shares of LYG opened at $3.04 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $2.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.78. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 12-month low of $1.88 and a 12-month high of $3.14. The stock has a market cap of $47.51 billion, a PE ratio of 8.00 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter. Analysts anticipate that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

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

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.