AQR Capital Management LLC Grows Position in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS)

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS - Free Report) by 74.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 178,988 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 76,247 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC's holdings in Barclays were worth $1,917,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Barclays by 1,362.1% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 19,682,115 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $210,762,000 after purchasing an additional 18,335,937 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Barclays by 190.9% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,661,086 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,210,000 after buying an additional 2,402,500 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in Barclays by 6,028.3% in the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,718,379 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $16,239,000 after buying an additional 1,690,339 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Barclays by 231.3% during the fourth quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 2,323,096 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $18,306,000 after acquiring an additional 1,621,896 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Barclays by 118.7% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 2,709,312 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,017,000 after acquiring an additional 1,470,523 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.39% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Barclays from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Kepler Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Barclays in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Barclays in a research report on Tuesday. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Barclays presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Barclays Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BCS traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $12.26. The company had a trading volume of 8,384,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,975,140. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $11.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.05. The stock has a market cap of $45.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.98, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. Barclays PLC has a twelve month low of $6.23 and a twelve month high of $12.49.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $7.98 billion during the quarter. Barclays had a return on equity of 5.94% and a net margin of 16.83%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Barclays PLC will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Barclays Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $0.2684 dividend. This is a boost from Barclays's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 3.6%. Barclays's dividend payout ratio is 21.64%.

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.