HighTower Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS)

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 368,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,420 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Barclays were worth $4,903,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Barclays during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Barclays in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Barclays in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Barclays during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Barclays during the 4th quarter worth about $71,000. 3.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Barclays Stock Performance

Shares of Barclays stock opened at $16.16 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.38. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $14.95 and a 200 day moving average of $13.52. Barclays PLC has a 12 month low of $8.95 and a 12 month high of $16.33.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.34 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Barclays PLC will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Barclays Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.2737 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a positive change from Barclays’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.27. Barclays’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.80%.

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.