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

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) by 95.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 882,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 431,486 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Barclays were worth $11,727,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings 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 valued at $47,886,000 after purchasing an additional 3,133,632 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Barclays by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 182,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,424,000 after acquiring an additional 9,911 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Barclays by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,063,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,709,000 after acquiring an additional 391,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Barclays during the 4th quarter worth approximately $370,000. 3.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Barclays Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of BCS opened at $14.70 on Wednesday. Barclays PLC has a 1 year low of $8.95 and a 1 year high of $16.34. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.33, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $52.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.11.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 expect that Barclays PLC will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barclays Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.2737 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from Barclays’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.27. This represents a yield of 2.7%. Barclays’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BCS shares. BNP Paribas raised shares of Barclays from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com lowered Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Barclays has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.