Cetera Investment Advisers Sells 108,782 Shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG)

Cetera Investment Advisers lessened its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG - Free Report) by 8.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,129,738 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 108,782 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $4,316,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crux Wealth Advisors bought a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. SYM FINANCIAL Corp purchased a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Advisor Resource Council acquired a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the first quarter worth $37,000. Rainey & Randall Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 1st quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new position in Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 2.15% of the company's stock.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

NYSE LYG traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $4.33. 9,717,451 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 24,021,662. Lloyds Banking Group PLC has a one year low of $2.56 and a one year high of $4.44. The stock has a market cap of $64.90 billion, a PE ratio of 10.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $4.20 and a 200-day moving average of $3.82.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.04. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 17.51% and a return on equity of 9.28%. The business had revenue of $6.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.86 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group PLC will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be issued a $0.0655 dividend. This represents a yield of 370.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. Lloyds Banking Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LYG. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Lloyds Banking Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

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.