MQS Management LLC Takes $487,000 Position in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC)

MQS Management LLC bought a new position in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $487,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,818,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,556,195,000 after acquiring an additional 78,407 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in The PNC Financial Services Group by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,766,157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $738,039,000 after purchasing an additional 778,264 shares in the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC grew its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 3,672,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $568,662,000 after purchasing an additional 114,960 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in The PNC Financial Services Group by 4.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,231,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $346,926,000 after buying an additional 100,993 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in The PNC Financial Services Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,548,543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $239,792,000 after buying an additional 6,657 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.53% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Michael P. Lyons sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.58, for a total value of $1,997,380.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 199,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,151,670.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO William S. Demchak sold 641 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.08, for a total transaction of $98,124.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 567,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $86,900,760.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Michael P. Lyons sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.58, for a total value of $1,997,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 199,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,151,670.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,622 shares of company stock valued at $4,319,914 over the last three months. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PNC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on The PNC Financial Services Group from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Compass Point downgraded shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $162.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $152.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, The PNC Financial Services Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $176.90.

The PNC Financial Services Group Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:PNC opened at $187.16 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $74.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.71, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.14. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $109.40 and a 12 month high of $187.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $176.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $162.68.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $5.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. The PNC Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 11.33% and a net margin of 15.53%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.36 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 13.1 earnings per share for the current year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th were given a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 15th. This is an increase from The PNC Financial Services Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. The PNC Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.74%.

About The PNC Financial Services Group

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.