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

Equity Investment Corp lessened its position in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc (NYSE:PNC - Free Report) by 0.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm 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 portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. 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.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PNC. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,352,151,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of 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 during the period. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $299,864,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 19,279.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,149,008 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $201,961,000 after acquiring an additional 1,143,079 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 166.1% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,378,675 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $265,436,000 after acquiring an additional 860,554 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PNC. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased 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 research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $205.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays cut their target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $257.00 to $235.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note 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 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, The PNC Financial Services Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $212.76.

Insider Transactions at The PNC Financial Services Group

In related news, Director Martin Pfinsgraff acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 2,009 shares in the company, valued at $317,863.98. This trade represents a 99.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO William S. Demchak sold 1,242 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,545 shares of company stock valued at $1,590,080. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

The PNC Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of The PNC Financial Services Group stock traded down $0.09 on Friday, reaching $195.90. 894,282 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,137,241. The firm's 50 day moving average is $181.79 and its 200-day moving average is $180.27. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc has a one year low of $145.12 and a one year high of $216.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $77.49 billion, a PE ratio of 13.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.07.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 18.33% and a return on equity of 11.07%. The company had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This is an increase from The PNC Financial Services Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. The PNC Financial Services Group's dividend payout ratio is 48.02%.

The PNC Financial Services Group Company 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.