Lloyds Banking Group PLC $LYG Shares Sold by Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. cut its position in Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) by 21.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 428,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 114,720 shares during the quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $2,273,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter valued at $680,000. Lido Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 64,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 6,170 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 22.8% in the fourth quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 171,907 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $911,000 after buying an additional 31,863 shares in the last quarter. Greenspring Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group in the fourth quarter valued at $308,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 153,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $811,000 after buying an additional 20,489 shares in the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LYG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered Lloyds Banking Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Lloyds Banking Group in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lloyds Banking Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Lloyds Banking Group Price Performance

Lloyds Banking Group stock opened at $5.32 on Friday. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $5.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.35. The stock has a market cap of $77.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.87. Lloyds Banking Group PLC has a 12-month low of $3.98 and a 12-month high of $6.34.

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

Lloyds Banking Group Company Profile

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.