Barclays PLC $BCS Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in Barclays PLC by 41%, selling 2,312,440 shares, and now holds approximately 0.09% of the company worth $51,048,000.
• Several hedge funds increased their investments in Barclays, with notable increases from Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. and Russell Investments Group Ltd., reflecting a growing interest among institutional investors.
• Barclays recently reported earnings of $0.62 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, and announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.1557 with a yield of 210.0%, highlighting strong financial performance despite recent rating changes by various research firms.

American Century Companies Inc. cut its holdings in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS - Free Report) by 41.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,323,424 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,312,440 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.09% of Barclays worth $51,048,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Barclays by 13.9% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 784,979 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,089,000 after buying an additional 95,566 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Barclays by 1,539.6% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 4,509 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 4,234 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Barclays in the first quarter valued at about $286,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Barclays by 52.0% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 47,617 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $731,000 after buying an additional 16,293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Barclays by 11.8% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 123,492 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,897,000 after buying an additional 13,030 shares during the last quarter. 3.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Barclays Stock Performance

BCS stock traded up $0.2350 during trading on Friday, hitting $20.4550. 8,055,060 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,965,366. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $19.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.70, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The company has a market cap of $72.22 billion, a PE ratio of 9.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.15. Barclays PLC has a 1 year low of $11.22 and a 1 year high of $20.58.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $9.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.06 billion. Barclays had a return on equity of 8.49% and a net margin of 22.11%. On average, equities analysts expect that Barclays PLC will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barclays Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.1557 per share. This represents a yield of 210.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. Barclays's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BCS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup cut Barclays from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Wall Street Zen cut Barclays from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Barclays in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Barclays in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

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.