Savant Capital LLC Buys 4,212 Shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS)

Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) by 30.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,212 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Barclays were worth $240,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd bought a new stake in Barclays in the 4th quarter valued at $599,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in shares of Barclays during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,647,000. Dorsey Wright & Associates bought a new position in shares of Barclays during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,276,000. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Barclays during the 4th quarter worth about $1,004,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Barclays during the 4th quarter worth about $1,208,000. 3.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Barclays from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th.

Barclays Price Performance

NYSE:BCS opened at $15.63 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $56.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.63, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.67, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a 50-day moving average of $13.95 and a 200-day moving average of $12.92. Barclays PLC has a 52 week low of $8.18 and a 52 week high of $15.65.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.15. Barclays had a net margin of 17.83% and a return on equity of 6.30%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Barclays PLC will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.2737 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a dividend 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 20.41%.

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.