LPL Financial LLC Acquires 127,898 Shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG)

LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG - Free Report) by 6.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,008,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 127,898 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $7,671,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 52.4% during the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 58,645 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 20,162 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 132,831 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 3,831 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 28.2% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 820,717 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,135,000 after acquiring an additional 180,515 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 13.8% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 719,229 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,747,000 after acquiring an additional 87,102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 5.7% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 164,901 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $630,000 after acquiring an additional 8,831 shares during the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LYG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. 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 research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of LYG stock traded down $0.04 on Friday, hitting $4.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,151,118 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,338,512. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Lloyds Banking Group PLC has a fifty-two week low of $2.56 and a fifty-two week high of $4.59. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $4.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.05.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $4.86 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Lloyds Banking Group PLC will post 0.27 EPS for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. This represents a yield of 370.0%. Lloyds Banking Group's payout ratio 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.