Millennium Management LLC Purchases 1,100,359 Shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC $LYG

Key Points

• Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 15.5%, owning approximately $31.32 million worth of shares as of the latest SEC filing.
• Lloyds Banking Group's stock rose 0.8% to $4.49 as it reported better-than-expected earnings, with a net margin of 17.51% and revenue of $6.13 billion for the quarter.
• The company announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.0655 per share, resulting in a significant dividend yield of 370.0%.

Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG - Free Report) by 15.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,199,299 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,100,359 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned 0.05% of Lloyds Banking Group worth $31,321,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LYG. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,492,898 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,083,000 after purchasing an additional 863,347 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the 1st quarter worth about $1,910,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 7,011,774 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,785,000 after purchasing an additional 399,866 shares in the last quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 85.6% in the 1st quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 846,594 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,234,000 after purchasing an additional 390,374 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Curi RMB Capital LLC acquired a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the 1st quarter worth about $1,107,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.15% of the company's stock.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group stock traded down $0.08 on Tuesday, hitting $4.55. 4,300,469 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,677,719. The company has a fifty day moving average of $4.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.08. The company has a market capitalization of $67.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.05. 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 one year low of $2.56 and a one year high of $4.63.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 9.28% and a net margin of 17.51%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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 disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 370.0%. Lloyds Banking Group's dividend payout ratio is 32.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on LYG shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Lloyds Banking Group from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, September 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy".

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.