Gator Capital Management LLC Sells 12,000 Shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS)

Gator Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 537,435 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,000 shares during the quarter. Barclays accounts for approximately 2.7% of Gator Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Gator Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Barclays were worth $7,143,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Barclays in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in Barclays in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Barclays during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Barclays by 135.5% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,678 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new position in Barclays in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on BCS shares. BNP Paribas upgraded Barclays from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Barclays Stock Down 7.9 %

Shares of NYSE BCS opened at $13.19 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.41 billion, a PE ratio of 7.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.11. Barclays PLC has a 12-month low of $8.95 and a 12-month high of $16.34. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.83.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts expect that Barclays PLC will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barclays Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.2737 per share. This is a boost from Barclays’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a yield of 2.7%. Barclays’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.89%.

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.