Affinity Investment Advisors LLC Invests $654,000 in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc (NYSE:PNC)

Key Points

• Affinity Investment Advisors LLC invested approximately $654,000 in The PNC Financial Services Group, acquiring 3,721 shares in the first quarter, reflecting institutional interest in the financial services provider.
• Several firms have recently issued buy ratings on PNC, with price targets ranging from $196.00 to $233.00, indicating positive sentiment among Wall Street analysts.
• The PNC Financial Services Group announced a quarterly dividend increase from $1.60 to $1.70 per share, representing a yield of 3.6%.

Affinity Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc (NYSE:PNC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,721 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $654,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 50.8% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group by 67.2% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group by 41.5% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 201 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in The PNC Financial Services Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new position in The PNC Financial Services Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 83.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on PNC. TD Cowen began coverage on The PNC Financial Services Group in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $233.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on The PNC Financial Services Group from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded The PNC Financial Services Group from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $212.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on The PNC Financial Services Group from $178.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on The PNC Financial Services Group from $205.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $214.17.

The PNC Financial Services Group Stock Down 1.7%

The PNC Financial Services Group stock opened at $191.30 on Friday. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc has a twelve month low of $145.12 and a twelve month high of $216.26. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $188.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.09.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.56 by $0.29. The PNC Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 11.07% and a net margin of 18.33%. The business had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.39 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is an increase from The PNC Financial Services Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 15th. The PNC Financial Services Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The PNC Financial Services Group

In other news, CEO William S. Demchak sold 1,242 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.75, for a total transaction of $210,829.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 554,879 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $94,190,710.25. This represents a 0.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

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.

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