Twin City Private Wealth LLC Reduces Holdings in Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG)

Key Points

• Twin City Private Wealth LLC reduced its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 24.8%, owning 267,995 shares worth approximately $1.02 million after selling 88,521 shares in the first quarter.
• Analysts have a generally positive outlook on Lloyds Banking Group, with several firms upgrading their ratings to "buy" or "outperform" recently, while the company holds an average rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Lloyds Banking Group announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.0655 per share, with a dividend yield of 370.0% and a payout ratio of 32.50%.

Twin City Private Wealth LLC cut its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG - Free Report) by 24.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 267,995 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 88,521 shares during the quarter. Twin City Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $1,024,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 225.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 7,098,940 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $19,309,000 after buying an additional 4,914,680 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 34.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,604,325 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,444,000 after buying an additional 4,021,039 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter worth $5,440,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 9.0% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,492,898 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,083,000 after buying an additional 863,347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,404,259 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,620,000 after purchasing an additional 453,326 shares during the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Up 1.4%

LYG traded up $0.06 on Friday, hitting $4.40. The company had a trading volume of 6,490,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,943,855. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $4.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.84. Lloyds Banking Group PLC has a 12-month low of $2.56 and a 12-month high of $4.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.05.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 9.28% and a net margin of 17.51%. The company had revenue of $6.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.86 billion. Analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group PLC will post 0.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

LYG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lloyds Banking Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

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.