Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Purchases 372,323 Shares of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC - Free Report) by 84.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 811,372 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 372,323 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.21% of The PNC Financial Services Group worth $142,615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PNC. Mechanics Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $541,000. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $739,000. Premier Fund Managers Ltd grew its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 38.3% during the 4th quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 49,430 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,511,000 after acquiring an additional 13,700 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. grew its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 156,609 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,202,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100 shares during the period. Finally, PKS Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $357,000. 83.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PNC. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of 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 cut their price objective on shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $212.50 to $189.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, HSBC raised shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $206.00 to $202.00 in a report on Monday, March 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $202.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kieran John Fallon sold 1,492 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.56, for a total transaction of $260,443.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,576,734.40. This trade represents a 6.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO William S. Demchak sold 601 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $96,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 563,573 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,171,680. This represents a 0.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,912 shares of company stock worth $2,313,022. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

The PNC Financial Services Group Price Performance

NYSE PNC traded down $4.56 on Friday, hitting $173.18. The stock had a trading volume of 1,727,076 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,063,502. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.12 and a 52-week high of $216.26. 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 capitalization of $68.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $167.04 and a 200-day moving average of $182.46.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.50 billion. The PNC Financial Services Group had a net margin of 17.10% and a return on equity of 11.12%. Equities analysts expect that The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 16th were given a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 16th. The PNC Financial Services Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.20%.

The PNC Financial Services Group 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.