Freedom Investment Management Inc. Grows Stake in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) by 28.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 18,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,177 shares during the quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Barclays were worth $248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BCS. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Barclays during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in Barclays during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Barclays in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in Barclays by 135.5% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,678 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Barclays during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. 3.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Barclays from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Barclays presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Barclays Price Performance

Shares of Barclays stock opened at $15.23 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $15.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.01. Barclays PLC has a one year low of $9.55 and a one year high of $16.34. The stock has a market cap of $54.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.33, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts expect that Barclays PLC will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Barclays Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.2737 dividend. This is a positive change from Barclays’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.27. This represents a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Barclays’s dividend payout ratio is 29.89%.

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.