Assetmark Inc. Acquires 660,256 Shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC $LYG

Key Points

• Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 24.0% in Q4, buying 660,256 shares to own 3,416,144 shares worth $18.106 million at quarter-end.
• Lloyds declared a dividend of $0.134 per share with an ex-dividend date of April 10 and a payment date of May 29.
• Shares opened at $5.62 after the bank reported Q4 EPS of $0.12 (beating estimates by $0.01), and several analysts upgraded the stock to buy, leaving a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy".

Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG - Free Report) by 24.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,416,144 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 660,256 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.'s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $18,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LYG. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 10.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,126,734 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,305,000 after buying an additional 108,100 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 124.1% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 263,246 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,006,000 after purchasing an additional 145,772 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 18.4% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 812,424 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,103,000 after purchasing an additional 126,247 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 162.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 11,724 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 7,253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $639,000. Institutional investors own 2.15% of the company's stock.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:LYG opened at $5.62 on Thursday. Lloyds Banking Group PLC has a 52 week low of $3.69 and a 52 week high of $6.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company has a market capitalization of $82.73 billion, a PE ratio of 13.37, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $5.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.17.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.01. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 10.06%. The firm had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.52 billion. Analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group PLC will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.134 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a dividend yield of 490.0%. Lloyds Banking Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on LYG shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lloyds Banking Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Lloyds Banking Group Company Profile

Lloyds Banking Group plc is a UK-based banking and financial services company that provides a broad range of retail, commercial and insurance products. Its principal consumer-facing brands include Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, through which it offers current accounts, savings, mortgages, credit cards and personal loans. The group also delivers services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and larger corporate clients, supplying business accounts, lending, payments and cash-management solutions.

In addition to core banking, Lloyds operates a significant wealth and insurance arm under the Scottish Widows brand, offering life insurance, pensions, investment and retirement planning products.

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