Fisher Asset Management LLC Trims Stake in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS)

Fisher Asset Management LLC cut its position in shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 249,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 16,398 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Barclays were worth $1,962,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCS. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Barclays by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,407,427 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,334,000 after buying an additional 210,982 shares during the period. Causeway Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Barclays by 19.5% during the third quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 4,042,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,492,000 after acquiring an additional 658,639 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its stake in shares of Barclays by 16.7% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 2,520,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,638,000 after acquiring an additional 360,390 shares in the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Barclays by 147.5% in the third quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 2,121,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,526,000 after purchasing an additional 1,264,134 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Barclays by 12.9% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,929,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,030,000 after purchasing an additional 220,102 shares in the last quarter. 3.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Barclays Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE BCS opened at $10.72 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.11. Barclays PLC has a one year low of $6.23 and a one year high of $10.73. The company has a market capitalization of $40.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.15, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.39). The business had revenue of $6.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.38 billion. Barclays had a net margin of 17.21% and a return on equity of 6.13%. Equities analysts forecast that Barclays PLC will post 1.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barclays Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.2671 per share. This is a boost from Barclays’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.14. This represents a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Barclays’s dividend payout ratio is 38.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.