Principal Securities Inc. Boosts Stake in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS)

Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) by 117.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,559 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Barclays were worth $211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Barclays during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $52,335,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Barclays by 286.1% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 3,565,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,315,000 after purchasing an additional 2,641,608 shares during the last quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in Barclays during the fourth quarter valued at $21,514,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Barclays by 3,073.2% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 689,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,052,000 after purchasing an additional 667,687 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in Barclays by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,432,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,149,000 after purchasing an additional 667,498 shares during the period. 3.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut Barclays from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th.

Barclays Price Performance

NYSE:BCS opened at $15.13 on Tuesday. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $14.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.08. Barclays PLC has a 1-year low of $8.37 and a 1-year high of $15.65. The firm has a market cap of $54.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.41.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Barclays PLC will post 2 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.2737 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from Barclays’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.27. Barclays’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.30%.

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.