Barclays PLC $BCS Shares Bought by Invesco Ltd.

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. significantly increased its stake in Barclays PLC by 8,088.1% in Q1, now owning 882,108 shares valued at $13.55 million.
• Barclays reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, with $0.62 EPS surpassing analysts' estimates of $0.50, and revenue of $9.58 billion compared to $7.06 billion expected.
• The company declared a semi-annual dividend of $0.1557 per share, yielding 210.0%, but had its dividend cut and a payout ratio of only 14.29%.

Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS - Free Report) by 8,088.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 882,108 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 871,335 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd.'s holdings in Barclays were worth $13,549,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BCS. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Barclays by 485.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,680,869 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $88,789,000 after buying an additional 5,538,912 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Barclays by 78.7% in the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 8,892,766 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $136,593,000 after purchasing an additional 3,917,785 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Barclays in the 4th quarter worth about $50,189,000. Duquesne Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Barclays by 58.7% in the 4th quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 3,186,855 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,353,000 after purchasing an additional 1,179,100 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Barclays by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,059,544 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $80,531,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029,401 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on BCS. Wall Street Zen cut Barclays from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Citigroup lowered Barclays from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Barclays in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Barclays in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Barclays presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Barclays Stock Performance

BCS stock traded down $0.23 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $20.18. The company had a trading volume of 6,725,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,992,152. The firm has a market cap of $71.23 billion, a PE ratio of 9.29, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $19.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.70.

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

Barclays Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a yield of 210.0%. Barclays's payout ratio is presently 14.29%.

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.