Ascent Group LLC Raises Stake in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Ascent Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) by 71.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 51,912 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,612 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $142,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD increased its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 39.2% during the 1st quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 89,948,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $232,967,000 after purchasing an additional 25,351,270 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 22,166,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,978,000 after acquiring an additional 1,180,775 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Services LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $50,966,000 after acquiring an additional 10,406,673 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 49.6% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,577,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,415,000 after acquiring an additional 2,841,956 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $14,939,000 after acquiring an additional 804,035 shares during the period. 2.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LYG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Kepler Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. BNP Paribas raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 5th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. 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, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lloyds Banking Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2.75.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

LYG stock opened at $3.03 on Thursday. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a one year low of $1.88 and a one year high of $3.18. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $3.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $2.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.45. The company has a market capitalization of $47.36 billion, a PE ratio of 7.97 and a beta of 1.35.

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 for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 10.34%. The company had revenue of $9.55 billion for the quarter. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were given a $0.0546 dividend. This represents a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This is a boost from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. Lloyds Banking Group’s 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.