Quantbot Technologies LP Purchases 106,128 Shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) by 389.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 133,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 106,128 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $363,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,226,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 14.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,280,034 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,154,000 after acquiring an additional 2,472,263 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 58.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,659,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,778,000 after purchasing an additional 2,456,914 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 58.3% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,703,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,316,000 after purchasing an additional 627,592 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 3,120.8% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 640,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,741,000 after purchasing an additional 620,325 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group stock opened at $3.84 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.06. The firm has a market cap of $58.25 billion, a PE ratio of 11.62 and a beta of 1.25. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 1 year low of $2.42 and a 1 year high of $3.91.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.03). Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 11.45%. The company had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.76 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.27 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.1035 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 4%. This is a positive change from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. Lloyds Banking Group’s payout ratio is presently 60.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LYG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.75.

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.