Barclays PLC $BCS Stock Holdings Lifted by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Key Points

• Crossmark Global Holdings raised its stake in Barclays by 20.4% in Q3, purchasing 50,567 shares to hold 298,581 shares worth about $6.17 million, according to its SEC filing.
• Several large institutions also increased or initiated positions — notably Fisher Asset Management now owns 83,062,892 shares (~$1.54 billion), while Norges Bank, JPMorgan and BNP Paribas added significant stakes.
• Barclays beat quarterly EPS expectations at $0.46 (consensus $0.42), announced a $0.3069 dividend payable March 31 (ex-dividend Feb 20), and the stock opened at $21.85, trading down about 2.6%.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS - Free Report) by 20.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 298,581 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 50,567 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Barclays were worth $6,172,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BCS. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Barclays by 13.2% during the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 83,062,892 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,544,139,000 after purchasing an additional 9,692,999 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Barclays in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $63,206,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Barclays during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $57,568,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Barclays by 1,719.7% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,031,480 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,765,000 after buying an additional 1,919,843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Barclays by 7,013.1% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,671,369 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,071,000 after buying an additional 1,647,872 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.39% of the company's stock.

Barclays Trading Down 2.6%

Barclays stock opened at $21.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.45, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market cap of $75.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.95. Barclays PLC has a 1 year low of $12.14 and a 1 year high of $27.70. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $25.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.95.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $72.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.23 billion. Barclays had a return on equity of 8.33% and a net margin of 21.91%. On average, research analysts predict that Barclays PLC will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barclays Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th will be given a $0.3069 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. This represents a dividend yield of 236.0%. Barclays's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BCS shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Barclays from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Barclays in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Erste Group Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Barclays in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Barclays in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Barclays in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

About Barclays

Barclays PLC NYSE: BCS is a British multinational bank and financial services company headquartered in London. The firm provides a broad range of banking and financial products to individual, corporate and institutional customers. Its core activities span retail and business banking, credit cards and payments, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.

In retail and business banking, Barclays offers deposit accounts, mortgages, personal and business loans, and card services.

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