Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) Stake Decreased by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) by 21.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,061,401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,358,530 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s holdings in Barclays were worth $39,884,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Barclays during the third quarter worth $1,600,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Barclays during the 3rd quarter valued at about $343,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Barclays by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,929,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,030,000 after buying an additional 220,102 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in Barclays by 6.0% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 462,043 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,599,000 after buying an additional 26,041 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Barclays by 5.0% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,407,427 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,334,000 after acquiring an additional 210,982 shares during the last quarter. 3.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on BCS. StockNews.com raised shares of Barclays from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Barclays in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Barclays presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $190.00.

Barclays Stock Performance

Shares of BCS opened at $10.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.15, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. Barclays PLC has a one year low of $6.23 and a one year high of $11.42. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $10.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.02. The company has a market capitalization of $39.39 billion, a PE ratio of 7.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.42.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $8.82 billion during the quarter. Barclays had a return on equity of 6.13% and a net margin of 17.21%. As a group, analysts expect that Barclays PLC will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Barclays 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.