Signaturefd LLC Grows Position in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS)

Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 75,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,183 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Barclays were worth $999,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BCS. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Barclays by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Barclays by 180.6% during the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 31,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $385,000 after purchasing an additional 20,371 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Barclays by 56.8% during the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 6,062 shares during the period. Wrapmanager Inc. purchased a new stake in Barclays in the 3rd quarter valued at about $181,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Barclays by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 113,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,378,000 after buying an additional 1,344 shares during the period. 3.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Barclays Price Performance

Barclays stock opened at $16.09 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.33, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $14.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.50. Barclays PLC has a 1 year low of $8.95 and a 1 year high of $16.33. The stock has a market cap of $57.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.38.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Barclays PLC will post 2 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.2737 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from Barclays’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.27. This represents a dividend yield of 2.7%. Barclays’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on BCS. BNP Paribas raised shares of Barclays from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Barclays Company 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.