Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Acquires 1,230 Shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Barclays were worth $417,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BCS. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Barclays by 11.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,432,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,149,000 after purchasing an additional 667,498 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Barclays during the 4th quarter valued at $59,373,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Barclays during the 3rd quarter worth $52,335,000. Todd Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new stake in shares of Barclays in the fourth quarter valued at about $21,514,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.39% of the company’s stock.

Barclays Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BCS opened at $16.09 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $57.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s 50-day moving average is $14.89 and its 200 day moving average is $13.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.33, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. Barclays PLC has a fifty-two week low of $8.95 and a fifty-two week high of $16.33.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last released 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Barclays PLC will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Barclays Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BCS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas raised shares of Barclays from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com lowered Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock currently 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.