I don't think HMG are trying to make a profit. In fact they have specifically said this in the past as it is not their job to trade equities. So, I suspect they are pretty much breaking even over the total trades required to exit completely from LLOY.

How do you arrive at that figure opto?

The only data I can see is from
http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5512745

2,104,606,310 = 2.95%

Number Number Number Number of % of voting
of of of shares voting rights (x)
Shares Voting rights
Rights
------------- ------------------ ------------------ ---------------- ------------------------------ -------------------------
Direct Direct Indirect Direct Indirect
(xi) (xii)
------------- -------------- -------------- ---------------- ---------------- ------------ ------------ -----------
GB0008706128 2,775,972,160 2,775,972,160 2,104,606,310 2,104,606,310 2.95%
------------------ ------------------ ---------------- ---------------- ------------ ------------ -----------

Harry, they never c&p correctly but but the last figure is the remaining holding, the previous 2 are the before and after...doesn't matter a lot though does it :-))

Hmmmm......I hope your day job isn't in accountancy?!!! ;o)

As you say, not too important. I wonder if HMG can now dump the rest in one go which would presumably change the makeup of the board and attract investors.

previous to triggring action 2,775,972,160
after triggering action 2,104,606,310
----------------
Shares disposed of 671,365,850

Hope it makes it better to
see Harry :-)

You're right opto. Apologies.
Good job my day job isn't accountancy.
Interesting that the Stockmarketwire.com release I posted earlier has made the same mistake and has now altered it's text. The danger of 2nd hand info!

JP Morgan Cazenove Overweight 69.00 - - Reiterates

They've pinched my chart!

Why Lloyds Banking is among top share tips in Europe

What the charts say about Lloyds Banking - By Alistair Strang | Wed, 22nd March 2017

Whatever provoked the misery in market fortunes during the FTSE 100 (UKX) Tuesday afternoon session was a bit weird.

Generally, when this sort of nonsense happens, we experience a raft of shares with drop triggers being hit. But it didn't happen so, therefore, we smell a rodent.

Even the retail banks, always the first to mimic a Champions League footballer being assaulted by an aggressive buttercup, avoided flinging themselves off a cliff.

Lloyds Bank (LLOY) is a case in point, again!

Our last article provided criteria for Lloyds to climb to 75p, once it achieved the herculean task of actually closing a session above the blue line on the chart.

Normal "rules" signal it really wants to reach 75p, but even intraday traffic above 71.217p will now suggest it heading to our 75p ambition. Secondary, above 75p, is now at a longer term 86p.

If trouble is planned, the red line is 67.153p as anything below this is liable to provoke an initial 63.75p with secondary, if broken, around 60p and hopefully a bounce.

We've shown a dashed red line across the bottom of the chart. To utterly foul up our calculations signalling 75p and beyond, the share price would need to weaken below this level - currently 57p.

For now, it looks safe and boring, a description no longer worthy of a UK retail bank.

Berenberg today downgrades its investment rating on Lloyds Banking Group PLC ORD (LON:LLOY) to sell (from hold) and left its price target at 55p.

Credit Suisse today (28/03/17) reaffirms its neutral investment rating on Lloyds Banking Group PLC ORD (LON:LLOY) and set its price target at 70p.

Jefferies International today (3/04/17) reaffirms its buy investment rating on Lloyds Banking Group PLC ORD (LON:LLOY) and raised its price target to 86p (from 82p).

Ex-divi today (0.5p)

H it had better be 2.2p in total

Ah, yes. I didn't see the first RNS! (1.7p + 0.5p)

Deutsche Bank today reaffirms its hold investment rating on Lloyds Banking Group PLC ORD (LON:LLOY) and cut its price target to 66p (from 70p).

Why Lloyds Bank will not outperform ahead of snap election - By Lee Wild | Wed, 19th April 2017 - 12:57

Just a week before Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) publishes first-quarter results, one broker has spelled out what it expects the high street lender to reveal on 27 April. But there's also reason to believe the shares will struggle to shine over the next few months.

"Lloyds has underperformed the bank sector 6% in the last month (though still 1% up year-to-date)," writes Deutsche Bank analyst David Lock. "We have upside to our target price, but we do not expect the shares to outperform whilst UK macro and political uncertainties persist.

"Though Lloyds looks cheap on 2017 price/earnings (PE), unlike most other banks in Europe the PE rises in future years rather than falls," Lock explains.

His assessment comes a day after Prime Minister Theresa May called a snap election for 8 June, already being billed as a second EU referendum, and as Lloyds is reported to be ready to convert its Berlin offices into a post-Brexit European HQ.


At 63.4p, up around 2% Wednesday at a two-week high, Lloyds shares trade on 9.6 times Deutsche's earnings per share (EPS) estimates for 2018 of 6.6p. Tangible net asset value is 1.1 times for a return on tangible equity of 12%, and the forward dividend yield is 6.5-8% for 2017-2019.

To value Lloyds shares, Deutsche uses an average of its sum-of-the-parts (Sotp) calculation and dividend-discount-model (DDM). Assuming a cost of equity of 9% and a growth rate of 1%, the broker trims its target price by 6% from 70p to 66p.

That's blamed largely on recent dividends – Lloyds just paid a final ordinary dividend of 1.7p per share and a special payout of 0.5p - and on lower Sotp multiples.

Back to the numbers, and Lock keeps first-quarter estimates unchanged, forecasting underlying profit before tax of £1.85 billion, down from £2.05 billion a year ago, but up from £1.79 billion in the final three months of 2016.

Expect income to have fallen around 1% quarter-on-quarter, costs to remain flat and impairments nudging higher by a "modest" £29 million to £225 million. That final figure could spring another positive surprise, reckons Lock, given "robust macro" during the period.

As ever, it's net interest margin (NIM), a key performance indicator for the banking sector, and net interest income (NII) that investors will be eyeing closely. Lock tips an improvement in the former to 2.71% for the quarter.

However, this time it will be important for Lloyds to deliver NII rather than NIM progression, which Lock says "likely requires volume and AIEA stability".

He urges investors to watch for deductions to Banking NII following an increase during the fourth quarter of 2016 to £119 million.

Elsewhere, Deutsche pencils in £1.46 billion of "other income", a potentially lumpy figure about flat year-on-year, but down quarter-on-quarter. Its common equity tier One (CET1) ratio is seen at 13.9% - this includes the 20 basis points (bps) of insurance dividend paid in February, but is before the 80bps MBNA purchase impact.

While Deutsche is unconvinced Lloyds will do any better than peers right now, it is worth noting that there does at least seem strong technical support at around 62p.

Perchance to dream (Sic).

Is Lloyds Banking Group plc about to offer a 10% dividend yield?

Q1 2017 Interim Management Statement


Strong underlying performance with significant improvement in statutory profit and returns
· Increase in underlying profit to £2.1 billion with an underlying return on tangible equity of 15.1 per cent
· Positive operating jaws while credit quality remains strong with asset quality ratio of 12 basis points
· Statutory profit before tax increased to £1.3 billion; statutory return on tangible equity of 8.8 per cent
· Strong balance sheet maintained with CET1 ratio of 14.5 per cent (pre dividend accrual)
· Tangible net assets per share increased to 56.5 pence driven by strong underlying profit

Our differentiated UK focused business model continues to deliver
· Simple, efficient and low risk business model providing competitive advantage
· Strong capital generation of 0.7 percentage points
· UK government shareholding now below 2 per cent

On track to deliver the Group financial targets for 2017 with longer term guidance maintained
· Net interest margin for the year now expected to be close to 2.80 per cent (pre MBNA)
· Expect open book mortgage balances to stabilise and then grow to close the year in line with 31 December 2016
· Asset quality ratio for the year now expected to be inside existing 25 basis points guidance (pre MBNA)
· Expect 2017 capital generation to be at the top end of the 170-200 basis points ongoing guidance range
· Continue to target a cost:income ratio of around 45 per cent exiting 2019 with reductions every year
· Expect to generate a statutory return on tangible equity of between 13.5 and 15.0 per cent in 2019


more.....