QRG Capital Management Inc. Buys 26,578 Shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS)

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 542,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,578 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Barclays were worth $7,208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Barclays in the 4th quarter worth approximately $120,000. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Barclays in the 4th quarter worth approximately $356,000. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in Barclays by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 40,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $538,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Barclays in the 4th quarter worth approximately $256,000. Finally, Todd Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Barclays by 0.5% in the 4th 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 institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday.

Barclays Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BCS opened at $15.87 on Friday. Barclays PLC has a twelve month low of $8.37 and a twelve month high of $16.02. The firm has a market cap of $57.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.62, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a 50 day moving average of $14.34 and a 200 day moving average of $13.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.33.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.15. Barclays had a net margin of 20.81% and a return on equity of 7.74%. As a group, research analysts expect that Barclays PLC will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barclays Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from Barclays’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.27. This represents a yield of 2.7%. Barclays’s payout ratio is currently 28.80%.

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.