Bank of Montreal Can Acquires 3,133,632 Shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS)

Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS - Free Report) by 667.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,603,127 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,133,632 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.10% of Barclays worth $47,886,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BCS. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Barclays by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,635,864 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $74,901,000 after acquiring an additional 505,351 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Barclays by 39.5% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 4,974,981 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $66,117,000 after purchasing an additional 1,409,948 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Barclays during the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,373,000. Todd Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Barclays by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 3,484,974 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $46,315,000 after acquiring an additional 18,854 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Barclays by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 3,270,195 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $43,461,000 after buying an additional 198,724 shares during the last quarter. 3.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BCS. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Barclays from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Barclays from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Barclays currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Barclays Trading Up 4.3 %

BCS stock traded up $0.61 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $14.88. The company had a trading volume of 8,309,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,702,746. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.33. Barclays PLC has a one year low of $8.95 and a one year high of $16.34. The business has a 50-day moving average of $15.13 and a 200-day moving average of $13.91. The stock has a market cap of $53.30 billion, a PE ratio of 8.09, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.11.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.15. Barclays had a net margin of 20.81% and a return on equity of 7.74%. Research analysts predict that Barclays PLC will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barclays Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.2737 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from Barclays's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.27. This represents a yield of 2.7%. Barclays's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.89%.

Barclays Profile

Barclays PLC provides various financial services in the United Kingdom, Europe, the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The company operates through Barclays UK and Barclays International division segments. It offers financial services, such as retail banking, credit cards, wholesale banking, investment banking, wealth management, and investment management services.