Hsbc Holdings PLC Makes New Investment in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS)

Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 500,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,650,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in Barclays by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 691,852 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,195,000 after acquiring an additional 57,784 shares in the last quarter. Senator Investment Group LP grew its stake in shares of Barclays by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Senator Investment Group LP now owns 114,041 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,516,000 after acquiring an additional 9,180 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of Barclays by 187.3% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 182,483 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,425,000 after purchasing an additional 118,967 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in shares of Barclays by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 2,133,020 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,348,000 after buying an additional 142,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC raised its holdings in Barclays by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 172,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,287,000 after acquiring an additional 36,137 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Barclays Stock Performance

Barclays stock traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $16.28. 15,215,704 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,501,407. Barclays PLC has a 1 year low of $10.15 and a 1 year high of $16.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.11. 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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $15.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.17.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.04. Barclays had a net margin of 20.81% and a return on equity of 7.74%. The firm had revenue of $10.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.37 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Barclays PLC will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barclays Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.2737 dividend. This is a positive change from Barclays's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.27. This represents a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Barclays's payout ratio is 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.