Barclays PLC (ADR) (NYSE:BCS) was in 13 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. BCS investors should pay attention to a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money of late. There were 13 hedge funds in our database with BCS positions at the end of the previous quarter.
Equally as key, bullish insider trading activity is a second way to break down the stock market universe. As the old adage goes: there are many stimuli for a corporate insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would buy. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if shareholders understand where to look (learn more here).
Consequently, we’re going to take a gander at the key action regarding Barclays PLC (ADR) (NYSE:BCS).
How are hedge funds trading Barclays PLC (ADR) (NYSE:BCS)?
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 13 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 0% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes substantially.
According to our comprehensive database, Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital had the largest position in Barclays PLC (ADR) (NYSE:BCS), worth close to $26.3 million, comprising 0.2% of its total 13F portfolio. On Arrowstreet Capital’s heels is Bruce J. Richards and Louis Hanover of Marathon Asset Management, with a $17.8 million position; 1.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining hedgies that hold long positions include Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and David Dreman’s Dreman Value Management.
Since Barclays PLC (ADR) (NYSE:BCS) has faced declining sentiment from hedge fund managers, we can see that there were a few funds that decided to sell off their full holdings in Q1. Interestingly, John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors cut the largest position of all the hedgies we key on, valued at close to $4.6 million in stock.. Matthew Tewksbury’s fund, Stevens Capital Management, also said goodbye to its stock, about $2.2 million worth. These moves are interesting, as total hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).
What have insiders been doing with Barclays PLC (ADR) (NYSE:BCS)?
Bullish insider trading is most useful when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the last half-year time frame, Barclays PLC (ADR) (NYSE:BCS) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Barclays PLC (ADR) (NYSE:BCS). These stocks are Itau Unibanco Holding SA (ADR) (NYSE:ITUB), Banco Santander, S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:SAN), Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (ADR) (NYSE:RBS), Lloyds Banking Group PLC (ADR) (NYSE:LYG), and UBS AG (USA) (NYSE:UBS). All of these stocks are in the foreign money center banks industry and their market caps match BCS’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Itau Unibanco Holding SA (ADR) (NYSE:ITUB) | 19 | 0 | 0 |
| Banco Santander, S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:SAN) | 17 | 1 | 0 |
| Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (ADR) (NYSE:RBS) | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| Lloyds Banking Group PLC (ADR) (NYSE:LYG) | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| UBS AG (USA) (NYSE:UBS) | 13 | 0 | 0 |
With the results shown by the aforementioned tactics, retail investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Barclays PLC (ADR) (NYSE:BCS) is no exception.
