American Century Companies Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS)

American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,635,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 505,351 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Barclays worth $74,901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in Barclays by 7.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Choreo LLC increased its position in shares of Barclays by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 46,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $623,000 after buying an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Barclays by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 40,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in Barclays by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 20,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 918 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Barclays by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 86,226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,146,000 after acquiring an additional 924 shares in the last quarter. 3.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BCS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BNP Paribas raised Barclays from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Barclays Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE BCS opened at $16.03 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $57.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.38. Barclays PLC has a 12 month low of $8.95 and a 12 month high of $16.33. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $15.13 and a 200-day moving average of $13.62.

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

Barclays Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.2737 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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 (DPR) is presently 28.80%.

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.