First Trust Advisors LP Grows Position in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG - Free Report) by 41.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 589,337 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 172,457 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $1,603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Crux Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Brentview Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of LYG opened at $3.85 on Wednesday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $3.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.19. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a twelve month low of $2.56 and a twelve month high of $4.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.65 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.03. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 11.45%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.78 billion. Analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.27 EPS for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a yield of 4%. This is a positive change from Lloyds Banking Group's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. Lloyds Banking Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on LYG shares. HSBC raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. StockNews.com cut Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley raised Lloyds Banking Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold".

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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