Cetera Investment Advisers Boosts Stake in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) by 0.5% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,221,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,381 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $3,334,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LYG. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 25,351,270 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 22,166,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,978,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180,775 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 49.6% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,577,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,415,000 after purchasing an additional 2,841,956 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 17.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,472,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,939,000 after purchasing an additional 804,035 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 25.3% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 5,087,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,889,000 after buying an additional 1,026,639 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Kepler Capital Markets began coverage on Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. UBS Group restated 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lloyds Banking Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2.75.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

Lloyds Banking Group stock opened at $3.08 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $48.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.11 and a beta of 1.34. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a one year low of $1.88 and a one year high of $3.18. The business has a fifty day moving average of $3.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.45.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 10.34%. The firm had revenue of $9.55 billion during the quarter. As a group, 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 company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a $0.0546 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a dividend yield of 4.4%. This is a boost from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

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.