Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) Shares Sold by First Affirmative Financial Network

First Affirmative Financial Network cut its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) by 15.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 66,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,460 shares during the quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LYG. Crux Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LYG. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Lloyds Banking Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

Shares of LYG opened at $4.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $63.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.76 and a beta of 1.01. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a one year low of $2.56 and a one year high of $4.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $3.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.38.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.78 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 11.45%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.