Bank of America Corp DE Purchases 5,538,912 Shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS)

Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) by 485.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,680,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,538,912 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.19% of Barclays worth $88,789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BCS. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Barclays during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Barclays during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Barclays during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Barclays by 135.5% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,678 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Barclays by 36.8% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,011 shares during the period. 3.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Barclays Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BCS opened at $16.52 on Monday. Barclays PLC has a twelve month low of $10.17 and a twelve month high of $16.79. The firm has a market cap of $59.18 billion, a PE ratio of 8.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.33, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The business has a fifty day moving average of $15.25 and a 200-day moving average of $14.34.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.04. Barclays had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 20.81%. The company had revenue of $10.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.37 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Barclays PLC will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barclays Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.2737 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change 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 27.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. BNP Paribas raised Barclays from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th.

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.