Barclays PLC (LON:BARC) shares were weak on Monday ahead of the blue-chip bank’s upcoming full-year results and as media reports suggested US hedge fund Tiger Global sold its stake in the lender at the start of 2019.
According to the Financial Times, which cited people familiar with the situation, Tiger Global, which at one point had amassed a 2.5% stake in the lender began to exit its position in 2018 and finished doing so just recently.
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The newspaper said that, because the shares had been lent to Tiger Global via share swaps, the temporary change of beneficial ownership was not apparent.
The report comes amid a recent attempt by activist investor, Edward Bramson to win representation on Barclays’ board in order to push for changes at the lender’s investment banking unit.
Media reports said Bramson has spent about £900mln building a 5.5% stake in Barclays through his investment vehicle Sherborne Investors.
Barclays will report its 2018 results on Thursday. Its interim numbers in October saw the bank’s equities and fixed income trading prove better than expected, while a return to dividend growth was a welcome boost for investors.
In mid-morning trading, Barclays shares were down 0.6% at 158.48p.