Northern Trust Corp Acquires 1,029,401 Shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS)

Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS - Free Report) by 20.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,059,544 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,029,401 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 0.17% of Barclays worth $80,531,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Barclays in the third quarter valued at $120,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Barclays by 981.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 277,243 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,424,000 after acquiring an additional 251,613 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in Barclays during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Barclays by 47.3% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 13,668 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $182,000 after acquiring an additional 4,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co grew its position in Barclays by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 53,920 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $717,000 after acquiring an additional 1,348 shares during the period. 3.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Barclays Stock Performance

Shares of Barclays stock traded up $0.40 during trading on Thursday, hitting $16.35. 14,965,646 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,458,896. 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's fifty day moving average is $15.22 and its 200 day moving average is $14.27. The stock has a market cap of $58.55 billion, a PE ratio of 8.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.10. Barclays PLC has a 12 month low of $10.17 and a 12 month high of $16.57.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.04. Barclays had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 20.81%. The business had revenue of $10.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.37 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Barclays PLC will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Barclays Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from Barclays's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.27. This represents a yield of 2.7%. Barclays's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.