Fifth Third Bancorp Cuts Holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc $PNC

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp trimmed its stake in The PNC Financial Services Group by 2.9%, selling 20,709 shares to finish the quarter with 695,703 shares valued at about $145.2 million (≈0.18% ownership).
• Analysts are broadly positive: the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $241.72 and several recent price-target upgrades (e.g., Jefferies $250, Bank of America $264, Morgan Stanley $267).
• PNC beat quarterly EPS ($4.32 vs. $3.92) with revenue up 13.1%, declared a $1.70 quarterly dividend (annualized $6.80, ~3.0% yield), and trades around $223 with a P/E of 12.97 and market cap near $90 billion.

Fifth Third Bancorp decreased its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc (NYSE:PNC - Free Report) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 695,703 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 20,709 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp owned about 0.18% of The PNC Financial Services Group worth $145,214,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,873,991 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,114,168,000 after acquiring an additional 408,464 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,242,132 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,464,462,000 after purchasing an additional 85,291 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in The PNC Financial Services Group by 6.0% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,835,687 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,177,318,000 after purchasing an additional 609,755 shares in the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP grew its stake in The PNC Financial Services Group by 234.9% in the third quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 7,956,766 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,598,753,000 after purchasing an additional 5,581,102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in The PNC Financial Services Group by 32.6% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,425,905 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $889,297,000 after purchasing an additional 1,086,941 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PNC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. They set a "buy" rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $234.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $260.00 to $264.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $263.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $241.72.

Insider Activity at The PNC Financial Services Group

In other news, CEO William S. Demchak sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.88, for a total transaction of $11,544,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 554,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $127,970,781.12. The trade was a 8.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Alexander E. C. Overstrom sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.91, for a total value of $584,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 21,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,940,179.20. The trade was a 10.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 64,186 shares of company stock valued at $14,840,973. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

The PNC Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of PNC stock opened at $223.25 on Friday. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc has a fifty-two week low of $158.92 and a fifty-two week high of $243.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.97, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.96. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $213.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $208.29.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $4.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.21 billion. The PNC Financial Services Group had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 12.10%. The PNC Financial Services Group's revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.51 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc will post 18.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 14th will be issued a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 14th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The PNC Financial Services Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.51%.

About The PNC Financial Services Group

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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