Cerity Partners LLC Buys 7,250 Shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) by 12.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,433 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,250 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Barclays were worth $523,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new stake in Barclays during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in Barclays by 127.0% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 4,285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 2,397 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in Barclays by 58.5% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 5,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its stake in Barclays by 35.1% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,574 shares during the period. Finally, Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC raised its stake in Barclays by 139.3% during the 3rd quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC now owns 6,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 3,900 shares during the period. 3.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Barclays Stock Performance

BCS opened at $9.60 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $9.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.92. Barclays PLC has a 1 year low of $6.23 and a 1 year high of $9.98. The company has a market capitalization of $36.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.63, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.39). Barclays had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 6.09%. The firm had revenue of $6.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.38 billion. Equities analysts expect that Barclays PLC will post 1.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barclays Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.2671 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a dividend yield of 4.6%. This is an increase from Barclays’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.14. Barclays’s payout ratio is currently 37.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $190.00.

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.