Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Reduces Stock Position in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc $PNC

Key Points

• Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. has reduced its stake in The PNC Financial Services Group by 32.4%, selling 15,184 shares and holding 31,658 shares valued at approximately $5.9 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., have increased their positions in PNC, highlighting strong institutional interest with over 83.5% of the stock owned by institutional investors.
• The PNC Financial Services Group reported earnings of $4.35 per share, exceeding expectations, along with a declared quarterly dividend of $1.70 per share, which reflects a 3.8% dividend yield.

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. cut its stake in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc (NYSE:PNC - Free Report) by 32.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,658 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 15,184 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.'s holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group were worth $5,902,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PNC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 0.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,965,619 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,673,217,000 after purchasing an additional 248,252 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 26.1% in the first 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 purchasing an additional 1,964,157 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 0.5% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,807,684 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $844,967,000 after purchasing an additional 24,588 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 4.8% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,056,797 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $713,063,000 after purchasing an additional 186,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 41.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,818,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $495,336,000 after purchasing an additional 830,440 shares during the last quarter. 83.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The PNC Financial Services Group Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of PNC opened at $179.30 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $70.61 billion, a PE ratio of 11.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.10. The company's fifty day moving average is $198.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $183.81. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc has a fifty-two week low of $145.12 and a fifty-two week high of $216.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $4.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $5.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.82 billion. The PNC Financial Services Group had a net margin of 19.30% and a return on equity of 11.47%. The PNC Financial Services Group's revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.49 EPS. Analysts forecast that The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 14th will be issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 14th. The PNC Financial Services Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on PNC. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 price target (up from $235.00) on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group in a research report on Thursday. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $212.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $218.47.

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.

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