Bank of America Corp DE Boosts Stock Holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc $PNC

Key Points

• Bank of America increased its PNC stake by 6.4% in the first quarter, adding 482,970 shares to own nearly 2% of the company valued at approximately $1.66 billion. Institutional investors collectively own 83.53% of PNC.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a $265.73 price target. PNC also exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $4.85 in EPS and $6.66 billion in revenue, up 21.4% year over year.
• PNC raised its quarterly dividend from $1.70 to $2.00 per share, equivalent to an annualized $8.00 dividend and a 3.2% yield; meanwhile, insiders sold 48,300 shares worth about $10.7 million over the past three months.

Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc (NYSE:PNC - Free Report) by 6.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,991,138 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 482,970 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 1.99% of The PNC Financial Services Group worth $1,662,876,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,873,991 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,114,168,000 after purchasing an additional 408,464 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,319,434 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,615,085,000 after buying an additional 77,302 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in The PNC Financial Services Group by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,936,742 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,491,819,000 after buying an additional 1,101,055 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in The PNC Financial Services Group in the 4th quarter worth about $1,967,080,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in The PNC Financial Services Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,861,852 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,841,387,000 after acquiring an additional 30,078 shares during the period. 83.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PNC. Barclays raised their price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $277.00 to $284.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on The PNC Financial Services Group from $260.00 to $264.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $265.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Andrew T. Feldstein sold 45,000 shares of The PNC Financial Services Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.57, for a total transaction of $9,925,650.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,370,906.93. The trade was a 80.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Duane Thomas sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.14, for a total value of $357,210.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,204,750.26. This represents a 22.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 48,300 shares of company stock valued at $10,694,574. 0.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

The PNC Financial Services Group Stock Performance

PNC opened at $248.74 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average is $239.63 and its 200 day moving average is $225.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $99.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.69, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.91. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc has a 12-month low of $176.88 and a 12-month high of $256.49.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.46 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $6.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.51 billion. The PNC Financial Services Group had a net margin of 21.41% and a return on equity of 12.48%. The firm's revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.85 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc will post 19.25 EPS for the current year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th will be issued a $2.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $8.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. This is an increase from The PNC Financial Services Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The PNC Financial Services Group's payout ratio is 44.03%.

The PNC Financial Services Group Profile

The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, offering a broad range of banking, lending, investment and wealth management services. PNC operates a national banking franchise with a significant retail branch network and dedicated capabilities for commercial, institutional and government clients. Its services are designed to serve individuals, small businesses, corporations and public sector entities across the United States.

PNC's core business activities include consumer and business banking, residential mortgage lending, corporate and institutional banking, asset management and wealth advisory services.

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