Mondrian Investment Partners LTD Sells 6,683,977 Shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG)

Key Points

• Mondrian Investment Partners LTD has decreased its stake in Lloyds Banking Group PLC by 9.2%, now holding 66,050,307 shares valued at approximately $252 million.
• Lloyds Banking Group reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.14 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.10, with significant revenue of $6.13 billion.
• The company has announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.0655 per share, with a substantial yield of 370.0%, although it has recently cut its dividend.

Mondrian Investment Partners LTD lowered its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG - Free Report) by 9.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,050,307 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,683,977 shares during the period. Lloyds Banking Group makes up approximately 4.3% of Mondrian Investment Partners LTD's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD owned approximately 0.44% of Lloyds Banking Group worth $252,312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in LYG. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Advisor Resource Council acquired a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. SYM FINANCIAL Corp acquired a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Rainey & Randall Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the first quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.15% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on LYG. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Lloyds Banking Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Monday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lloyds Banking Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

LYG stock traded up $0.04 during trading on Thursday, hitting $4.59. The company had a trading volume of 6,300,321 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,443,031. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50 day moving average of $4.23 and a 200 day moving average of $3.88. Lloyds Banking Group PLC has a fifty-two week low of $2.56 and a fifty-two week high of $4.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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. As a group, research analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group PLC will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

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