Barclays PLC $BCS Shares Sold by Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. cut its stake in shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) by 1.1% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 818,946 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,969 shares during the period. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Barclays were worth $15,224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Barclays by 1.1% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 56,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,042,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Barclays by 2.2% during the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 31,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $485,000 after acquiring an additional 668 shares during the last quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Barclays by 2.3% during the first quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 32,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $502,000 after acquiring an additional 735 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Barclays by 5.1% in the second quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 16,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Barclays by 2.8% in the second quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 32,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $612,000 after purchasing an additional 888 shares in the last quarter. 3.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Barclays from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Barclays in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Citigroup cut shares of Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Barclays in a report on Monday, October 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy”.

Barclays Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE BCS opened at $19.50 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.20 billion, a PE ratio of 8.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.10. 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 PLC has a 52 week low of $12.14 and a 52 week high of $21.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $20.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.41.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $9.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.06 billion. Barclays had a net margin of 22.11% and a return on equity of 8.49%. As a group, research analysts expect that Barclays PLC will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barclays Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.1557 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 210.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. Barclays’s payout ratio is currently 14.75%.

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.