Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Acquires 118,967 Shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS - Free Report) by 187.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 182,483 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 118,967 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Barclays were worth $2,425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BCS. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Barclays during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in Barclays in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Barclays in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Barclays by 135.5% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,916 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,678 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Barclays during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. 3.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Barclays Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE BCS traded up $0.08 during trading on Monday, hitting $15.90. 3,897,292 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,496,297. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $15.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.10. Barclays PLC has a 12-month low of $10.15 and a 12-month high of $16.34. The firm has a market cap of $56.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.64, a PEG 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.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts expect that Barclays PLC will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Barclays Increases Dividend

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