Earnest Partners LLC Sells 7,196 Shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Earnest Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) by 8.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 82,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,196 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD lifted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 39.2% in the 1st quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 89,948,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $232,967,000 after acquiring an additional 25,351,270 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 149.9% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 29,696,591 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,975,000 after buying an additional 17,814,615 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 22,166,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,978,000 after buying an additional 1,180,775 shares during the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC raised its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 96.9% during the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 21,147,627 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,966,000 after buying an additional 10,406,673 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 18,625,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,528,000 after buying an additional 439,009 shares during the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Thursday, May 9th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Berenberg Bank started coverage on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. They set a “hold” rating and a $2.75 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 5th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.38.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:LYG traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $3.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,833,802 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,192,461. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $2.86 and a 200-day moving average of $2.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.16 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 12-month low of $1.88 and a 12-month high of $3.13.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th will be given a $0.0546 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 5th. This is an increase from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. This represents a dividend yield of 4.4%. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.37%.

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.