Ethic Inc. Boosts Stock Position in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC)

Ethic Inc. increased its position in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 76,493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,633 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group were worth $14,752,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PNC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,717,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,273,794,000 after purchasing an additional 268,827 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,835,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,089,622,000 after acquiring an additional 549,278 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,538,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,453,763,000 after buying an additional 726,115 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in The PNC Financial Services Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,352,151,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,695,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $905,530,000 after purchasing an additional 608,375 shares during the period. 83.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

The PNC Financial Services Group Stock Performance

The PNC Financial Services Group stock opened at $166.65 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $65.92 billion, a PE ratio of 12.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $165.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $186.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $145.12 and a twelve month high of $216.26.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.50 billion. The PNC Financial Services Group had a net margin of 17.10% and a return on equity of 11.12%. Research analysts expect that The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 16th were paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 16th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.84%. The PNC Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on PNC shares. Barclays cut their target price on The PNC Financial Services Group from $257.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on The PNC Financial Services Group from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. HSBC raised shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $206.00 to $202.00 in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $200.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Martin Pfinsgraff acquired 1,000 shares of The PNC Financial Services Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $158.22 per share, with a total value of $158,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $317,863.98. This trade represents a 99.11 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO William S. Demchak sold 601 shares of The PNC Financial Services Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $96,160.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 563,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $90,171,680. The trade was a 0.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,662 shares of company stock valued at $2,322,006 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

The PNC Financial Services Group Company Profile

The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc operates as a diversified financial services company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Retail Banking, Corporate & Institutional Banking, and Asset Management Group segments. The company's Retail Banking segment offers checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as time deposit; residential mortgages, home equity loans and lines of credit, auto loans, credit cards, education loans, and personal and small business loans and lines of credit; and brokerage, insurance, and investment and cash management services.