Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Increases Holdings in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG - Free Report) by 26.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,322,198 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 280,214 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV's holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $3,596,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in LYG. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the third quarter worth approximately $64,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the third quarter worth approximately $262,000. Synovus Financial Corp grew its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 95.5% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 115,232 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $360,000 after acquiring an additional 56,296 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Bard Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,426,305 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,600,000 after purchasing an additional 13,500 shares in the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Lloyds Banking Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. HSBC upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com cut Lloyds Banking Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Lloyds Banking Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lloyds Banking Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

Shares of LYG stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $3.88. 43,357,835 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,910,811. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $3.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.76 and a beta of 0.97. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 12-month low of $2.56 and a 12-month high of $4.00.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.78 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 11.45%. On average, research analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $0.1035 dividend. This represents a yield of 4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 57.14%.

Lloyds Banking Group 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.