Capital Fund Management S.A. Acquires 372,095 Shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS)

Capital Fund Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) by 192.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 565,868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 372,095 shares during the quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A.’s holdings in Barclays were worth $7,520,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. DRW Securities LLC increased its stake in Barclays by 1,090.4% in the fourth quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 169,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,255,000 after purchasing an additional 155,397 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Barclays by 95.7% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 882,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,727,000 after purchasing an additional 431,486 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Barclays by 667.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,603,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,886,000 after buying an additional 3,133,632 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Barclays by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 30,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 1,961 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Barclays by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 182,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,424,000 after buying an additional 9,911 shares during the period. 3.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Barclays Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of Barclays stock opened at $13.95 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $50.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.58, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $15.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.88. Barclays PLC has a 1 year low of $8.95 and a 1 year high of $16.34.

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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Barclays PLC will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barclays Increases Dividend

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

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.