Moors & Cabot Inc. Increases Holdings in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS)

Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) by 15.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,675 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Barclays were worth $168,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BCS. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Barclays during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Barclays in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Barclays in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Barclays in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Barclays in the 4th quarter valued at about $71,000. 3.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BCS shares. StockNews.com downgraded Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. BNP Paribas upgraded Barclays from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Barclays Stock Performance

BCS opened at $15.71 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $56.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.38. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.45. Barclays PLC has a 1-year low of $8.95 and a 1-year high of $16.33.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 20.81%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Barclays PLC will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barclays Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.2737 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 28.80%.

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.