Raymond James & Associates Raises Stock Holdings in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG - Free Report) by 23.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,443,769 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 471,656 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates' holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $5,841,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LYG. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 11.5% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 437,570 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,055,000 after acquiring an additional 44,960 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 16.1% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 317,152 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $764,000 after acquiring an additional 43,970 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 5.0% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 323,199 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $778,000 after acquiring an additional 15,481 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 38.4% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 73,541 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $177,000 after acquiring an additional 20,390 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 17.1% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 385,383 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $930,000 after acquiring an additional 56,248 shares during the period. 2.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

Lloyds Banking Group stock traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $2.63. 13,317,680 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,862,641. The company has a market cap of $41.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a twelve month low of $1.88 and a twelve month high of $2.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $2.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2.24.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 17.97% and a return on equity of 11.29%. The company had revenue of $19.05 billion for the quarter. Equities analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a $0.046 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 5.9%. Lloyds Banking Group's payout ratio is currently 30.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Bank of America upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $64.17.

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.