Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Invests $45,000 in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 16,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $45,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LYG. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 26,669,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,540,000 after purchasing an additional 2,713,559 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 58.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,659,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,778,000 after buying an additional 2,456,914 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,611,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,984,000 after acquiring an additional 604,924 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 5,601,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,236,000 after purchasing an additional 150,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,226,000. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LYG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. HSBC raised Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley raised Lloyds Banking Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Lloyds Banking Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $2.75.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LYG opened at $3.77 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $3.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.19 billion, a PE ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.95. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a fifty-two week low of $2.50 and a fifty-two week high of $3.91.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.03). Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 11.45% and a return on equity of 8.46%. The company had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.76 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.1035 per share. This represents a yield of 4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.61%.

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.