ICONIQ Capital LLC Increases Stake in Lloyds Banking Group PLC $LYG

Key Points

• ICONIQ Capital LLC increased its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 194.1% in the first quarter, raising its holdings to 87,502 shares, valued at $334,000.
• Several institutional investors also raised their positions in Lloyds Banking Group, including Jackson Thornton Wealth Management, which increased its stake by 20.4%.
• Lloyds Banking Group's stock received positive upgrades from multiple analysts, with Goldman Sachs changing its rating from "neutral" to "buy".

ICONIQ Capital LLC raised its stake in Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG - Free Report) by 194.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 87,502 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 57,750 shares during the period. ICONIQ Capital LLC's holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $334,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LYG. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 38.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 206,990 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 57,562 shares in the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $56,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 41.4% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 589,337 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 172,457 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,404,259 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,620,000 after acquiring an additional 453,326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 63,152 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $172,000 after acquiring an additional 7,575 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.15% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Lloyds Banking Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Lloyds Banking Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Lloyds Banking Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised Lloyds Banking Group from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

Shares of LYG traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $4.33. 8,521,260 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,033,793. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.73 billion, a PE ratio of 10.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.05. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $4.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.00. Lloyds Banking Group PLC has a 52-week low of $2.56 and a 52-week high of $4.62.

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

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be given a dividend of $0.0655 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. This represents a yield of 370.0%. Lloyds Banking Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.50%.

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.