Sage Investment Counsel LLC Invests $76,000 in Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG)

Sage Investment Counsel LLC bought a new position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 28,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $76,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 122,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 3,346 shares during the period. Brio Consultants LLC grew its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 30.2% in the 4th quarter. Brio Consultants LLC now owns 16,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 3,880 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 30.8% in the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 3,969 shares during the period. Fielder Capital Group LLC grew its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 60,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 4,366 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR grew its position in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 157,627 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 4,553 shares during the period. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

Shares of LYG opened at $3.77 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.96. Lloyds Banking Group plc has a 52-week low of $2.33 and a 52-week high of $3.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.18 billion, a PE ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 1.31.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.76 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $0.1035 per share. This is an increase from Lloyds Banking Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. This represents a dividend yield of 4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. Lloyds Banking Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.30%.

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.