Lloyds Banking Group PLC $LYG Stock: Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Cuts Stake

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. cut its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) by 5.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,580,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 263,846 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $25,787,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LYG. Guardian Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Sowell Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 16.1% in the third quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 15,415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 2,137 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 88.1% in the third quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 39,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $217,000 after purchasing an additional 18,535 shares during the period. Tanager Wealth Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the third quarter worth $101,000. Finally, Kaufman Rossin Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the third quarter worth $87,000. 2.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LYG opened at $5.49 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $78.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $5.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.70. Lloyds Banking Group PLC has a fifty-two week low of $4.49 and a fifty-two week high of $6.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.52.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $6.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.86 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 24.97% and a return on equity of 10.94%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group PLC will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a dividend of $0.0840 per share. This is a drop from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous dividend of $0.1340. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This represents a dividend yield of 273.0%. Lloyds Banking Group’s payout ratio is currently 37.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on LYG shares. Berenberg Bank began coverage on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lloyds Banking Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.00.

Lloyds Banking Group Profile

Lloyds Banking Group plc is a UK-based financial services group whose American depositary shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LYG. The group provides banking, lending, insurance, pensions and investment services to individuals, businesses and institutional customers.

Its principal brands include Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows. Products and services include current and savings accounts, residential mortgages, personal and business loans, credit cards, commercial banking, asset finance, life insurance, pensions and investment solutions.

Lloyds Banking Group was formed in 2009 through the acquisition of HBOS by Lloyds TSB.