Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC Sells 716,786 Shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC $LYG

Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) by 76.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 219,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 716,786 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $931,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LYG. ICONIQ Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 194.1% during the 1st quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 87,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 57,750 shares during the period. Beck Bode LLC bought a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $5,254,000. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,689,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its position in Lloyds Banking Group by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 6,816,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,969,000 after buying an additional 612,523 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 430.5% during the 2nd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 479,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,039,000 after buying an additional 389,255 shares during the period. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lloyds Banking Group Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE:LYG opened at $5.31 on Wednesday. Lloyds Banking Group PLC has a 52 week low of $2.56 and a 52 week high of $5.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $4.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.53. The firm has a market cap of $78.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.55.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $6.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.02 billion. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 18.04% and a return on equity of 8.38%. On average, equities analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group PLC will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on LYG shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a research note on Friday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.