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

Capital Fund Management S.A. raised its position in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) by 192.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 565,868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 372,095 shares during the quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A.’s holdings in Barclays were worth $7,520,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Barclays by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,635,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,901,000 after purchasing an additional 505,351 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in Barclays by 39.5% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 4,974,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,117,000 after buying an additional 1,409,948 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Barclays in the fourth quarter worth about $59,373,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Barclays by 667.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,603,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,886,000 after acquiring an additional 3,133,632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Todd Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Barclays by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 3,484,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,315,000 after acquiring an additional 18,854 shares during the last quarter. 3.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Barclays Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of BCS stock opened at $13.95 on Friday. Barclays PLC has a fifty-two week low of $8.95 and a fifty-two week high of $16.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.14 billion, a PE ratio of 7.58, a P/E/G 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. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.88.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Barclays Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.2737 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from Barclays’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.27. Barclays’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas raised shares of Barclays from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of 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 given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Barclays presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.