Prosperity Consulting Group LLC Sells 66,562 Shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Prosperity Consulting Group LLC lessened its stake in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) by 75.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 66,562 shares during the period. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $58,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LYG. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD lifted its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 39.2% during the first quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 89,948,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $232,967,000 after purchasing an additional 25,351,270 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 149.9% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 29,696,591 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $70,975,000 after buying an additional 17,814,615 shares during the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC boosted its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 96.9% in the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 21,147,627 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,966,000 after buying an additional 10,406,673 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 49.6% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,577,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,415,000 after acquiring an additional 2,841,956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 195.8% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 2,833,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,339,000 after acquiring an additional 1,875,688 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE LYG opened at $3.05 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.67 billion, a PE ratio of 8.03 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.48 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 $3.14.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $9.55 billion during the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 10.34%. Equities 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 declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th will be given a dividend of $0.0546 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 5th. This is a positive change from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. This represents a dividend yield of 4.4%. Lloyds Banking Group’s payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Kepler Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup lowered shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report 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 report on Friday, July 26th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 5th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.