Ballentine Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Lloyds Banking Group PLC $LYG

Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 169,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,626 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $721,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LYG. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Advisor Resource Council purchased a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the first quarter worth $37,000. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the first quarter worth $38,000. SYM FINANCIAL Corp purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the 1st quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Rainey & Randall Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the 1st quarter worth $41,000. 2.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

Lloyds Banking Group stock opened at $4.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Lloyds Banking Group PLC has a 1-year low of $2.56 and a 1-year high of $4.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50-day moving average is $4.43 and its 200 day moving average is $4.12.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.04. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 17.51% and a return on equity of 9.28%. The company had revenue of $6.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.86 billion. Research analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group PLC will post 0.27 EPS for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th were paid a $0.0655 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. This represents a yield of 370.0%. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on LYG. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 7th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lloyds Banking Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.