Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) Shares Bought by First Eagle Investment Management LLC

First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) by 9.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,060,740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 343,753 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $10,517,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LYG. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD lifted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 39.2% during the 1st quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 89,948,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $232,967,000 after acquiring an additional 25,351,270 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 149.9% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 17,814,615 shares during the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 96.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 10,406,673 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 34.8% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 7,122,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,021,000 after purchasing an additional 1,840,413 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meritage Portfolio Management purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,470,000. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LYG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 5th. Berenberg Bank assumed coverage on Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Thursday, April 25th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $2.75 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lloyds Banking Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.25.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LYG remained flat at $3.02 during trading hours on Friday. The company had a trading volume of 7,443,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,120,969. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $2.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $2.54. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 1-year low of $1.88 and a 1-year high of $3.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 10.35%. The company had revenue of $14.35 billion during the quarter. As a group, analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.