Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) Shares Sold by Flputnam Investment Management Co.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. lowered its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) by 27.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,988 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,032 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $31,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LYG. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,986,428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,491,000 after purchasing an additional 228,359 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,363,000. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,285,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,867,000 after acquiring an additional 411,188 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 157,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 11,600 shares during the period. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 88.3% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 344,708 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $824,000 after acquiring an additional 161,610 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Bank of America upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.17.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

Lloyds Banking Group stock opened at $2.52 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $40.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $2.43 and a 200-day moving average of $2.26. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 52 week low of $1.88 and a 52 week high of $2.72.

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

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.046 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.00%.

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.