Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Increases Stock Position in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG - Free Report) by 119.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 125,225 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 68,064 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 26,669,053 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $72,540,000 after buying an additional 2,713,559 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake 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 valued at $44,620,000 after buying an additional 453,326 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 34.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,604,325 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,444,000 after buying an additional 4,021,039 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 225.0% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 7,098,940 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $19,309,000 after buying an additional 4,914,680 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,611,908 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $17,984,000 after buying an additional 604,924 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.15% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on LYG shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. HSBC raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Seven equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Down 1.1%

Lloyds Banking Group stock opened at $4.18 on Friday. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 52-week low of $2.56 and a 52-week high of $4.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $3.96 and a 200-day moving average of $3.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.77 billion, a P/E 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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. On average, research analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.

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