Park Avenue Securities LLC Acquires 189,458 Shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG - Free Report) by 65.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 478,335 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 189,458 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $1,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in LYG. Crux Wealth Advisors bought a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 2.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LYG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded 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 shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. HSBC upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold".

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

Shares of LYG traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $4.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 17,739,148 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,198,538. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.43. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 52-week low of $2.56 and a 52-week high of $4.30. The company has a market cap of $62.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.65 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Lloyds Banking Group 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.