Sage Investment Counsel LLC Purchases New Shares in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Sage Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 28,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $76,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 122,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 3,346 shares during the period. Brio Consultants LLC increased its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 30.2% in the fourth quarter. Brio Consultants LLC now owns 16,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 3,880 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 30.8% in the third quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 3,969 shares during the period. Fielder Capital Group LLC increased its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 60,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $166,000 after purchasing an additional 4,366 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR increased its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 157,627 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 4,553 shares during the period. 2.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of LYG stock opened at $3.77 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $3.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.96. The firm has a market cap of $57.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 1.31. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 12 month low of $2.33 and a 12 month high of $3.78.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.76 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 11.45%. Sell-side analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $0.1035 per share. This is a positive change from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. This represents a dividend yield of 4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. Lloyds Banking Group’s payout ratio is presently 30.30%.

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.