AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 17,206 Shares of 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 lowered its stake in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) by 4.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BCS. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Barclays in the fourth quarter worth $664,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Barclays by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 390,237 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,186,000 after purchasing an additional 27,851 shares in the last quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Barclays by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 21,660 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 2,506 shares in the last quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Barclays by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 183,981 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,445,000 after purchasing an additional 3,766 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WCG Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Barclays in the fourth quarter worth $202,000. Institutional investors own 3.39% of the company's stock.

Barclays Price Performance

NYSE:BCS opened at $20.74 on Friday. Barclays PLC has a one year low of $11.48 and a one year high of $20.82. The company has a market cap of $73.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.14. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $19.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.70, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

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

Barclays Cuts Dividend

The firm 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 $0.1557 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This represents a dividend yield of 210.0%. Barclays's dividend payout ratio is 14.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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