Equity Investment Corp Sells 3,552 Shares of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc (NYSE:PNC)

Equity Investment Corp reduced its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc (NYSE:PNC) by 0.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 586,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,552 shares during the period. The PNC Financial Services Group comprises about 2.3% of Equity Investment Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Equity Investment Corp owned 0.15% of The PNC Financial Services Group worth $103,087,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PNC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $7,273,794,000 after acquiring an additional 268,827 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in The PNC Financial Services Group by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,835,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,089,622,000 after acquiring an additional 549,278 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in The PNC Financial Services Group by 26.1% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,502,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,670,249,000 after acquiring an additional 1,964,157 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in The PNC Financial Services Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,352,151,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 608,375 shares in the last quarter. 83.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

The PNC Financial Services Group Stock Performance

Shares of PNC opened at $192.14 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc has a twelve month low of $145.12 and a twelve month high of $216.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $180.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $180.15. The firm has a market cap of $76.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.57, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.07.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.59 by $0.26. The PNC Financial Services Group had a net margin of 17.68% and a return on equity of 10.95%. On average, analysts forecast that The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc will post 15.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This is a positive change from The PNC Financial Services Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. The PNC Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is currently 48.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on PNC. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $179.00 to $178.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $235.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target 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 report on Wednesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The PNC Financial Services Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.11.

Insider Transactions at The PNC Financial Services Group

In other news, EVP Kieran John Fallon sold 1,492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.56, for a total value of $260,443.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,576,734.40. The trade was a 6.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Martin Pfinsgraff acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $158.22 per share, for a total transaction of $158,220.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $317,863.98. This represents a 99.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,545 shares of company stock valued at $1,590,080 over the last 90 days. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.