Schechter Investment Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS)

Schechter Investment Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) by 11.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,981 shares during the quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Barclays were worth $849,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Barclays during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Barclays during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Barclays during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Barclays during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Barclays during the fourth quarter worth $71,000. 3.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Barclays from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Barclays presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Barclays Trading Down 1.1 %

BCS opened at $15.66 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.46 billion, a PE ratio of 8.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.41. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $14.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.25. 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 PLC has a 12-month low of $8.63 and a 12-month high of $16.23.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, research analysts expect that Barclays PLC will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barclays Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.2737 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from Barclays’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Barclays’s dividend payout ratio is 28.80%.

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.