Mondrian Investment Partners LTD Trims Stake in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Mondrian Investment Partners LTD lessened its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) by 16.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 74,716,427 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,232,110 shares during the period. Lloyds Banking Group makes up about 3.6% of Mondrian Investment Partners LTD’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $226,391,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of LYG. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 234.3% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 11,105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 7,783 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter worth $256,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 18,625,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,528,000 after buying an additional 439,009 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 254,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $608,000 after buying an additional 24,256 shares during the period. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 150.3% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 196,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $469,000 after buying an additional 117,919 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of LYG opened at $3.04 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.00 and a beta of 1.35. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 12-month low of $1.88 and a 12-month high of $3.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $2.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $2.78.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $9.55 billion during the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 12.40%. Equities research analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th will be issued a $0.0546 dividend. This is an increase from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. This represents a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 5th. Lloyds Banking Group’s payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on LYG. BNP Paribas raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 5th. Kepler Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup lowered shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.38.

Lloyds Banking Group Company 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.