Merit Financial Group LLC Invests $613,000 in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS)

Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 39,884 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $613,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BCS. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Barclays during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Barclays during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew 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 worth $39,000 after buying an additional 1,678 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Barclays by 36.8% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 1,011 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Barclays during the 4th quarter worth approximately $71,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.39% of the company’s stock.

Barclays Stock Performance

Shares of BCS opened at $18.13 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.33, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. Barclays PLC has a twelve month low of $10.17 and a twelve month high of $18.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $16.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.03. The firm has a market cap of $64.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.85, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.11.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.37 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Barclays PLC will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on BCS. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Barclays from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th.

Barclays Profile

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.