Fisher Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Lloyds Banking Group PLC $LYG

Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 151,258,982 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,300,718 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $801,673,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD purchased a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the third quarter valued at about $285,004,000. Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new position in Lloyds Banking Group in the third quarter valued at about $1,386,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 4.4% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 5,079,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,062,000 after purchasing an additional 211,920 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,416,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,106,000 after purchasing an additional 660,256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 311.6% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 227,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,034,000 after purchasing an additional 172,422 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on LYG. Wall Street Zen raised Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group raised Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE LYG opened at $5.37 on Monday. Lloyds Banking Group PLC has a 12-month low of $3.98 and a 12-month high of $6.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09. The company has a market cap of $78.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.88. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.32.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 10.63% and a net margin of 25.11%.The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter. Equities research analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group PLC will post 0.53 EPS for the current year.

About Lloyds Banking Group

Lloyds Banking Group plc is a UK-based banking and financial services company that provides a broad range of retail, commercial and insurance products. Its principal consumer-facing brands include Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, through which it offers current accounts, savings, mortgages, credit cards and personal loans. The group also delivers services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and larger corporate clients, supplying business accounts, lending, payments and cash-management solutions.

In addition to core banking, Lloyds operates a significant wealth and insurance arm under the Scottish Widows brand, offering life insurance, pensions, investment and retirement planning products.