First Trust Advisors LP Has $1.60 Million Stake in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG - Free Report) by 41.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 589,337 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 172,457 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $1,603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter worth $11,226,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position 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 worth $72,540,000 after purchasing an additional 2,713,559 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 58.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,659,629 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,778,000 after purchasing an additional 2,456,914 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter worth $5,440,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 3,120.8% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 640,202 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,741,000 after purchasing an additional 620,325 shares during the period. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

Shares of LYG traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $3.86. 5,749,460 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,872,727. The firm's 50 day moving average is $3.74 and its 200-day moving average is $3.20. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 52 week low of $2.56 and a 52 week high of $4.00. The company has a market cap of $58.33 billion, a PE ratio of 11.68 and a beta of 0.97.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.78 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $0.1035 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This is a boost from Lloyds Banking Group's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. Lloyds Banking Group's payout ratio is currently 57.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LYG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res raised Lloyds Banking Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley raised Lloyds Banking Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com cut Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. HSBC raised Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Lloyds Banking Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold".

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.