Blue Barn Wealth LLC Sells 8,288 Shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Blue Barn Wealth LLC cut its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,288 shares during the period. Blue Barn Wealth LLC’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $202,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brentview Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Simon Quick Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. 2.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2.75.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Up 2.0 %

Lloyds Banking Group stock opened at $3.90 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $3.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $2.98. The company has a market cap of $59.16 billion, a PE ratio of 11.80 and a beta of 1.31. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a twelve month low of $2.42 and a twelve month 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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.1035 per share. This represents a yield of 4%. This is an increase from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.61%.

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.