Covington Investment Advisors Inc. Makes New $20.95 Million Investment in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc $PNC

Key Points

• Covington Investment Advisors acquired 85,081 PNC shares worth approximately $20.95 million, making PNC about 2.7% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 83.53% of the company.
• PNC exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $4.85 in EPS and $6.88 billion in revenue, with revenue rising 21.4% year over year.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend from $1.70 to $2.00 per share, equivalent to an $8.00 annualized payout and a 3.3% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $265.73.

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc (NYSE:PNC - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 85,081 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $20,949,000. The PNC Financial Services Group makes up about 2.7% of Covington Investment Advisors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in The PNC Financial Services Group by 1.1% during 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 buying an additional 408,464 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in The PNC Financial Services Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $7,921,455,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in The PNC Financial Services Group by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,319,434 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,615,085,000 after purchasing an additional 77,302 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,936,742 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,491,819,000 after purchasing an additional 1,101,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter valued at $1,967,080,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PNC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $264.50 to $269.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $263.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $267.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on The PNC Financial Services Group from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $265.73.

The PNC Financial Services Group Stock Down 0.0%

PNC stock opened at $243.05 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $248.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $229.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.38, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.91. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc has a one year low of $176.88 and a one year high of $258.96.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.46 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $6.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.51 billion. The PNC Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 21.41%.The business's revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.85 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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 was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th were given a $2.00 dividend. This is a boost from The PNC Financial Services Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $8.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 20th. The PNC Financial Services Group's dividend payout ratio is 44.03%.

Insider Activity at The PNC Financial Services Group

In other The PNC Financial Services Group news, EVP Stacy M. Juchno sold 3,354 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.84, for a total transaction of $858,087.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,809,792. This trade represents a 15.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephanie Novosel sold 1,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.73, for a total value of $411,714.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $710,664.11. The trade was a 36.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 51,654 shares of company stock valued at $11,552,661 in the last ninety days. 0.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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