J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Trims Holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc (NYSE:PNC)

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG reduced its stake in The PNC Financial Services Group by 12.5%, leaving them with 234,692 shares valued at approximately $41.25 million.
• Oppenheimer upgraded PNC from "market perform" to "outperform," setting a price target of $238.00, while several other brokerages adjusted their ratings, indicating a generally positive outlook on the stock.
• PNC announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.70 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 3.7% with a payout ratio of 46.51%.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG reduced its stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc (NYSE:PNC - Free Report) by 12.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 234,692 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 33,539 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG owned approximately 0.06% of The PNC Financial Services Group worth $41,252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PNC. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in The PNC Financial Services Group by 26.1% during 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 buying an additional 1,964,157 shares in the last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $299,864,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 19,279.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,149,008 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $201,961,000 after purchasing an additional 1,143,079 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,695,514 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $905,530,000 after purchasing an additional 608,375 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 84.8% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 811,372 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $142,615,000 after purchasing an additional 372,323 shares during the period. 83.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at The PNC Financial Services Group

In related news, CEO William S. Demchak sold 1,242 shares of The PNC Financial Services Group 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 in the company, valued at approximately $94,190,710.25. This trade represents a 0.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kieran John Fallon sold 1,492 shares of The PNC Financial Services Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.56, for a total value of $260,443.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,576,734.40. The trade was a 6.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,218 shares of company stock worth $900,918. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on PNC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on The PNC Financial Services Group from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. TD Cowen started coverage on The PNC Financial Services Group in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $233.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on The PNC Financial Services Group from $178.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Raymond James Financial upgraded The PNC Financial Services Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $220.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on The PNC Financial Services Group from $257.00 to $235.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $214.17.

The PNC Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PNC traded up $3.25 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $189.13. The stock had a trading volume of 1,588,537 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,597,905. The company has a market capitalization of $74.81 billion, a PE ratio of 12.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $185.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $180.06. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc has a 1 year low of $145.12 and a 1 year high of $216.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.56 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.61 billion. The PNC Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 11.07% and a net margin of 18.33%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.39 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is a boost from The PNC Financial Services Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. The PNC Financial Services Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.51%.

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.