Neuberger Berman Group LLC Grows Holdings in Barclays PLC $BCS

Key Points

• Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its stake in Barclays by 54.3% during the third quarter, buying 208,696 shares to hold 593,053 shares worth about $12.25 million at quarter-end.
• Analysts give Barclays a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" (one Strong Buy, three Buy, two Hold), with recent positive notes from RBC (outperform), Morgan Stanley (overweight) and Zacks (upgraded to strong-buy).
• Barclays topped Q4 EPS estimates ($0.46 actual vs. $0.42 expected) and announced a $0.3069 dividend payable March 31 to shareholders of record on February 20.

Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its position in shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) by 54.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 593,053 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 208,696 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC's holdings in Barclays were worth $12,251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Barclays during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of Barclays during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Barclays during the third quarter worth $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its position in shares of Barclays by 2,673.6% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Barclays during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.39% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on BCS shares. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Barclays in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Barclays in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Barclays in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Zacks Research raised shares of Barclays from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Barclays in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Barclays currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Barclays Stock Performance

Barclays stock opened at $21.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.45, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. Barclays PLC has a 12 month low of $12.14 and a 12 month high of $27.70. The company has a market cap of $75.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.95. The stock's 50-day moving average is $25.69 and its 200-day moving average is $22.97.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $72.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.23 billion. Barclays had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 8.33%. Equities analysts anticipate that Barclays PLC will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Barclays Announces Dividend

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

Barclays Profile

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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