Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) Shares Sold by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG - Free Report) by 10.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,431,036 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 165,583 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $3,892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 122,641 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 3,346 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 75,049 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 3,420 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 38,339 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 3,451 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 109,799 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 3,728 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brio Consultants LLC boosted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 30.2% in the fourth quarter. Brio Consultants LLC now owns 16,735 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 3,880 shares during the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on LYG shares. Hsbc Global Res raised Lloyds Banking Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, HSBC raised Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold".

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

Shares of LYG stock traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $4.00. The stock had a trading volume of 13,202,429 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,287,664. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 12-month low of $2.56 and a 12-month high of $4.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 0.97. The firm's 50-day moving average is $3.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.22.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.78 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 11.45%. Analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.27 EPS for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $0.1035 per share. This is a positive change from Lloyds Banking Group's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. This represents a yield of 4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. Lloyds Banking Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 57.14%.

Lloyds Banking Group 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.