AQR Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Barclays PLC $BCS

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Barclays PLC by 4.5%, selling 17,206 shares to hold a total of 364,163 shares, valued at approximately $5.6 million.
• Recent earnings reported by Barclays showed an EPS of $0.62, exceeding estimates, with revenue hitting $9.58 billion compared to expectations of $7.06 billion.
• Analyst ratings have shown mixed results, with some downgrading Barclays' stock from "buy" to "hold," while others maintained an "overweight" rating, resulting in an average rating of "Moderate Buy."

AQR Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS - Free Report) by 4.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 364,163 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 17,206 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC's holdings in Barclays were worth $5,594,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Barclays by 78.7% during the first 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. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Barclays by 8,088.1% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 882,108 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,549,000 after buying an additional 871,335 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Barclays during the first quarter valued at about $12,809,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Barclays by 65.7% during the first 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 acquiring an additional 733,520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Barclays by 11.4% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,976,635 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $76,441,000 after acquiring an additional 509,110 shares in the last quarter. 3.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Barclays Stock Performance

NYSE BCS traded up $0.26 on Thursday, reaching $21.03. The stock had a trading volume of 10,687,062 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,093,211. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.70, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. Barclays PLC has a 12-month low of $11.48 and a 12-month high of $21.13. The business's 50-day moving average price is $19.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.63. The stock has a market cap of $74.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.14.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.06 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Barclays PLC will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Barclays Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.1557 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a dividend yield of 210.0%. Barclays's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Barclays in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Barclays in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Barclays from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th. Finally, Citigroup lowered Barclays from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company 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.