Acadian Asset Management LLC Buys 9,188,263 Shares of Barclays PLC $BCS

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC has significantly increased its stake in Barclays PLC by 37.6%, now owning approximately 33.6 million shares of the company, valued at around $516 million.
• Analysts have mixed views on Barclays, with four giving the stock a "Buy" rating while one has downgraded it to "Hold," resulting in an average rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Barclays PLC recently reported better-than-expected earnings for the quarter with an EPS of $0.62 and announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.1557, yielding 210.0% for shareholders.

Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS - Free Report) by 37.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,607,068 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,188,263 shares during the quarter. Barclays accounts for about 1.5% of Acadian Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned about 0.94% of Barclays worth $516,163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Barclays by 78.7% in the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 8,892,766 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $136,593,000 after buying an additional 3,917,785 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Barclays by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,976,635 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $76,441,000 after buying an additional 509,110 shares during the last quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Barclays by 19.8% in the 1st quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 3,817,305 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $58,634,000 after buying an additional 630,450 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Barclays in the 4th quarter valued at about $50,189,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Barclays by 65.7% in the 1st quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,850,260 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,420,000 after buying an additional 733,520 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 3.39% of the company's stock.

Barclays Stock Down 0.3%

BCS stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $20.74. 6,549,906 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,786,976. The firm's 50 day moving average is $19.66 and its 200 day moving average is $17.49. Barclays PLC has a twelve month low of $11.48 and a twelve month high of $20.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.70. The firm has a market cap of $73.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.14.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.12. Barclays had a return on equity of 8.49% and a net margin of 22.11%.The business had revenue of $9.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.06 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Barclays PLC will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Barclays Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.1557 per share. This represents a yield of 210.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. Barclays's dividend payout ratio is 14.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on BCS. Citigroup lowered Barclays from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered Barclays from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Barclays in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Barclays in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Barclays currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Barclays Company 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.