Wells Fargo & Company MN Has $16.57 Million Stock Position in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Wells Fargo & Company MN lessened its stake in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,090,946 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 245,863 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $16,567,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 20.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,055,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,293,000 after buying an additional 180,178 shares in the last quarter. May Hill Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 288,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $786,000 after acquiring an additional 39,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 389.2% during the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 133,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 106,128 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE LYG opened at $3.59 on Monday. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 12 month low of $2.42 and a 12 month high of $3.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $3.55 and a 200-day moving average of $3.10. The company has a market capitalization of $54.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.86 and a beta of 0.95.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.76 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 11.45% and a return on equity of 8.46%. Analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $0.1035 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. This represents a yield of 4%. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.