Raiffeisen Bank International AG Acquires New Shares in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC)

Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 25,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,834,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in 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 last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,835,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,089,622,000 after purchasing an additional 549,278 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,538,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,453,763,000 after purchasing an additional 726,115 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in The PNC Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,352,151,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group by 14.9% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at The PNC Financial Services Group

In related news, Director Martin Pfinsgraff purchased 1,000 shares of The PNC Financial Services Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $158.22 per share, with a total value of $158,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $317,863.98. This trade represents a 99.11% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO William S. Demchak sold 1,242 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.45, for a total value of $239,022.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 571,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $109,893,761.25. The trade was a 0.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,396 shares of company stock valued at $2,789,603. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on PNC. Citigroup dropped their price objective on The PNC Financial Services Group from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on The PNC Financial Services Group from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on The PNC Financial Services Group from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded The PNC Financial Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on The PNC Financial Services Group from $235.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The PNC Financial Services Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.67.

The PNC Financial Services Group Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE:PNC opened at $179.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $71.06 billion, a PE ratio of 13.06, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.06. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.12 and a 52-week high of $216.26. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $186.29.

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

The PNC Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 16th were given a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 16th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. The PNC Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.20%.

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.