Cetera Investment Advisers Acquires 9,068 Shares of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC)

Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 131,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,068 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group were worth $25,287,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,717,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,273,794,000 after acquiring an additional 268,827 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $2,089,622,000 after purchasing an additional 549,278 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $1,453,763,000 after purchasing an additional 726,115 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in The PNC Financial Services Group in the 4th quarter worth $1,352,151,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group by 14.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 608,375 shares during the period. 83.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Martin Pfinsgraff acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $317,863.98. This represents a 99.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO William S. Demchak sold 1,242 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.18, for a total transaction of $236,203.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 569,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $108,361,330.94. This trade represents a 0.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,662 shares of company stock valued at $2,322,006 in the last ninety days. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. 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 research note on Monday, March 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of 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. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Two investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $200.88.

The PNC Financial Services Group Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of PNC stock opened at $166.65 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $65.92 billion, a PE ratio of 12.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.06. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.12 and a 1 year high of $216.26. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $165.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $186.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.50 billion. Research analysts predict that The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 16th were issued 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 3.84%. The PNC Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is 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.