Cresset Asset Management LLC Sells 173,782 Shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Cresset Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG - Free Report) by 92.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,908 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 173,782 shares during the quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC's holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $41,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LYG. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter valued at $11,226,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 34.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,604,325 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,444,000 after purchasing an additional 4,021,039 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 26,669,053 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $72,540,000 after purchasing an additional 2,713,559 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter valued at $5,440,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 3,120.8% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 640,202 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,741,000 after purchasing an additional 620,325 shares in the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LYG traded up $0.05 on Thursday, hitting $4.25. 31,441,030 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,704,802. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 12 month low of $2.56 and a 12 month high of $4.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.88 and a beta of 0.97. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $3.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.26.

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

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $0.1035 dividend. This is an increase from Lloyds Banking Group's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. This represents a dividend yield of 4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. Lloyds Banking Group's payout ratio is presently 57.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. HSBC upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Lloyds Banking Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold".

Lloyds Banking Group Company 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.