Guggenheim Capital LLC Acquires 29,360 Shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS)

Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS - Free Report) by 165.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 47,075 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 29,360 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Barclays were worth $626,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BCS. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Barclays by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 9,476 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC grew its position in Barclays by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 46,860 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $623,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Barclays by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 40,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Barclays by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 86,226 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,146,000 after acquiring an additional 924 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Barclays by 36.8% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,762 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 3.39% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Barclays from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. BNP Paribas upgraded Barclays from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Barclays Stock Performance

Shares of Barclays stock traded down $0.08 on Wednesday, hitting $16.05. 18,129,797 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,519,993. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.33, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.49 billion, a PE ratio of 8.72, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.11. Barclays PLC has a 1 year low of $10.15 and a 1 year high of $16.34. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.15.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.15. Barclays had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 20.81%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Barclays PLC will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Barclays Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.2737 per share. This is a boost from Barclays's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a yield of 2.7%. Barclays's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.89%.

About Barclays

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.