Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) by 49.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 31,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,516 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Barclays were worth $425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Barclays during the 3rd quarter valued at $52,335,000. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Barclays by 286.1% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 3,565,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,315,000 after buying an additional 2,641,608 shares during the period. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new stake in shares of Barclays in the fourth quarter valued at about $21,514,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Barclays by 3,073.2% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 689,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,052,000 after acquiring an additional 667,687 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in Barclays by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,432,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,149,000 after purchasing an additional 667,498 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 3.39% of the company’s stock.

Barclays Stock Performance

Shares of Barclays stock opened at $15.66 on Wednesday. Barclays PLC has a one year low of $8.63 and a one year high of $16.23. The company has a market capitalization of $56.46 billion, a PE ratio of 8.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.33, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.25.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.15. Barclays had a net margin of 20.81% and a return on equity of 7.74%. Research analysts expect that Barclays PLC will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barclays Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.2737 dividend. This is a boost from Barclays’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.7%. Barclays’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BCS. BNP Paribas raised shares of Barclays from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average 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.