Townsquare Capital LLC Boosts Holdings in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS)

Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 64,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,497 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Barclays were worth $863,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BCS. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Barclays during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Barclays in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Barclays in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,678 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new position in Barclays during the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors own 3.39% of the company’s stock.

Barclays Trading Up 0.9 %

BCS stock opened at $14.69 on Friday. Barclays PLC has a twelve month low of $9.26 and a twelve month high of $16.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.33. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.11.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.15. Barclays had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 20.81%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Barclays PLC will post 2 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.2737 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from Barclays’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.27. This represents a dividend yield of 2.7%. Barclays’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.