Prospera Financial Services Inc Acquires 460,431 Shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC $LYG

Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE:LYG) by 1,394.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 493,442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 460,431 shares during the quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Lloyds Banking Group were worth $2,615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 149,958,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $680,811,000 after purchasing an additional 1,129,641 shares in the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD bought a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $285,004,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,279,272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $64,828,000 after purchasing an additional 541,501 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Lloyds Banking Group by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 14,129,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $64,148,000 after purchasing an additional 622,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in Lloyds Banking Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $63,928,000. Institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

Shares of LYG opened at $5.51 on Wednesday. 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 capitalization of $80.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.52, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $5.28 and a 200 day moving average of $5.33. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a return on equity of 10.63% and a net margin of 25.11%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lloyds Banking Group PLC will post 0.53 earnings per share 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.