Barclays (NYSE:BCS) Shares Down 2.5%

Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) fell 2.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $9.29 and last traded at $9.35. 2,751,628 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 17,430,846 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.59.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Barclays from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $190.00.

Barclays Trading Down 2.5 %

The business's 50 day moving average price is $8.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.63. The company has a market cap of $35.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.83, a PEG ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.48.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.39). Barclays had a return on equity of 6.09% and a net margin of 16.82%. The company had revenue of $6.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.38 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Barclays PLC will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barclays Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.2671 dividend. This is a boost from Barclays's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a yield of 4.6%. Barclays's payout ratio is 37.96%.

Institutional Trading of Barclays

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in Barclays by 44.3% in the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 20,402 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $193,000 after purchasing an additional 6,262 shares in the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Barclays in the 1st quarter worth about $96,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in Barclays by 15.9% in the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 63,628 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $601,000 after buying an additional 8,718 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. bought a new position in Barclays in the 1st quarter valued at about $101,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Barclays by 51.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,411 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 1,503 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.39% of the company's stock.

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.