Renaissance Technologies LLC Increases Position in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS)

Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS - Free Report) by 95.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 882,386 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 431,486 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC's holdings in Barclays were worth $11,727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Barclays by 667.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,603,127 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $47,886,000 after acquiring an additional 3,133,632 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in Barclays by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 30,166 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 1,961 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Barclays by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 182,404 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,424,000 after acquiring an additional 9,911 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Barclays by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,063,126 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,709,000 after acquiring an additional 391,899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Barclays in the 4th quarter valued at about $370,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.39% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BCS. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Barclays from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. BNP Paribas upgraded Barclays from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Barclays Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE BCS traded up $0.13 during trading on Friday, hitting $14.69. 17,624,041 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,694,056. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $15.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.95. Barclays PLC has a 1 year low of $9.26 and a 1 year high of $16.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.11.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.15. Barclays had a net margin of 20.81% and a return on equity of 7.74%. On average, equities analysts predict that Barclays PLC will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Barclays Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.2737 dividend. This is an increase from Barclays's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.7%. Barclays's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.89%.

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.