Norges Bank Buys New Position in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc $PNC

Key Points

• Norges Bank opened a new position in The PNC Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter, buying 9.4 million shares worth about $1.97 billion and ending with roughly 2.40% ownership.
• PNC continues to attract strong institutional interest, with several large investors increasing stakes and 83.53% of the stock now held by institutions. Meanwhile, director Andrew T. Feldstein sold 45,000 shares in a recent insider transaction.
• The company posted solid quarterly results, with EPS of $4.32 beating estimates, and it also pays a quarterly dividend of $1.70 per share, equal to a 3.1% yield. Wall Street currently rates the stock a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $243.11.

Norges Bank bought a new stake in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc (NYSE:PNC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 9,424,039 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,967,080,000. Norges Bank owned about 2.40% of The PNC Financial Services Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PNC. Viking Global Investors LP boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 5,581,102 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group by 50.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,485,320 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $700,305,000 after acquiring an additional 1,162,964 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,086,941 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group by 6.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 609,755 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake in The PNC Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $123,940,000. 83.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on 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. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group in a report on Friday, March 27th. Truist Financial increased their price target on The PNC Financial Services Group from $234.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on The PNC Financial Services Group from $260.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $243.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Andrew T. Feldstein sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.57, for a total value of $9,925,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,749 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,370,906.93. This represents a 80.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.38% of the company's stock.

The PNC Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PNC opened at $221.36 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc has a twelve month low of $170.49 and a twelve month high of $243.94. The stock's 50 day moving average is $216.27 and its 200-day moving average is $213.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.86, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.94.

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

The PNC Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 14th were given a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 14th. The PNC Financial Services Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PNC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc (NYSE:PNC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.