Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) Shares Acquired by Fisher Asset Management LLC

Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 250,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,030 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Barclays were worth $3,331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Barclays in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Barclays in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Barclays in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new position in Barclays during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Barclays by 290.8% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 6,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 4,772 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on BCS shares. StockNews.com cut 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Barclays presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Barclays Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BCS opened at $16.21 on Thursday. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $14.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.27. The stock has a market cap of $58.43 billion, a PE ratio of 8.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.41. Barclays PLC has a one year low of $8.77 and a one year high of $16.27.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.15. Barclays had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 20.81%. On average, analysts forecast that Barclays PLC will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barclays Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.2737 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from Barclays’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.27. Barclays’s payout ratio is currently 28.80%.

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.