Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) Shares Sold by XTX Topco Ltd

XTX Topco Ltd lessened its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG - Free Report) by 42.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 233,130 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 168,606 shares during the quarter. XTX Topco Ltd's holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $634,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 58.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,659,629 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $20,778,000 after buying an additional 2,456,914 shares during the period. May Hill Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $227,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,126,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,064,000 after buying an additional 70,838 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 288,877 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 39,685 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 389.2% during the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 133,398 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 106,128 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.15% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LYG. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Lloyds Banking Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. HSBC upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $2.75.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Up 0.1 %

LYG stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $3.92. 8,120,979 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,947,011. The company has a market capitalization of $59.47 billion, a PE ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 0.95. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a twelve month low of $2.51 and a twelve month high of $3.96. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3.14.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.76 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $0.1035 dividend. This is an increase from Lloyds Banking Group's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. This represents a dividend yield of 4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. Lloyds Banking Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.61%.

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.