Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Sells 3,178 Shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. cut its stake in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,178 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Barclays were worth $234,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cedar Brook Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Barclays by 10.8% during the third quarter. Cedar Brook Financial Partners LLC now owns 14,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,000 after buying an additional 1,422 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its position in Barclays by 35.1% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,574 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQ Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Barclays by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaQ Advisors LLC now owns 11,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 1,635 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Barclays by 127.0% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 4,285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 2,397 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Barclays by 4.1% in the third quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 62,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 2,474 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 3.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Barclays currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $190.00.

Barclays Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BCS opened at $9.71 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.63, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $8.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.81 billion, a PE ratio of 7.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.48. Barclays PLC has a 52 week low of $6.23 and a 52 week high of $9.98.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.39). The company had revenue of $6.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.38 billion. Barclays had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 6.09%. Analysts predict that Barclays PLC will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barclays Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.2671 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This is an increase from Barclays’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.14. Barclays’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.96%.

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.