LPL Financial LLC Buys 64,801 Shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS)

LPL Financial LLC raised its position in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS - Free Report) by 65.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 163,719 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 64,801 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Barclays were worth $2,176,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Henry James International Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Barclays in the fourth quarter worth about $438,000. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new position in Barclays in the 4th quarter valued at $21,514,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Barclays in the 4th quarter valued at $599,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Barclays by 3,073.2% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 689,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,052,000 after purchasing an additional 667,687 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Barclays by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 308,721 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,103,000 after purchasing an additional 40,437 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.39% of the company's stock.

Barclays Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:BCS traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $14.69. The stock had a trading volume of 17,624,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,687,600. The firm has a market cap of $52.60 billion, a PE ratio of 7.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.97. 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 twelve month low of $9.40 and a twelve month high of $16.34.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Barclays PLC will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barclays Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas raised shares of Barclays from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Barclays from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Barclays presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

About Barclays

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.