Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Sells 92,950 Shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC cut its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) by 9.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 852,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 92,950 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $2,319,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 122,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 3,346 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 75,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 3,420 shares in the last quarter. Brio Consultants LLC raised its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 30.2% in the 4th quarter. Brio Consultants LLC now owns 16,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 3,880 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 20,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 4,022 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fielder Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 60,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $166,000 after acquiring an additional 4,366 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE LYG opened at $3.81 on Wednesday. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 12 month low of $2.42 and a 12 month high of $3.91. The stock has a market cap of $57.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s 50 day moving average is $3.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.07.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.76 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 11.45% and a return on equity of 8.46%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.27 EPS for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 represents a dividend yield of 4%. This is an increase from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. Lloyds Banking Group’s payout ratio is presently 60.61%.

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.