The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc $PNC Shares Acquired by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Key Points

• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in PNC by 80.2% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 45,717 shares valued at about $9.55 million.
• Several other institutional investors also increased positions, and hedge funds and institutions now own 83.53% of PNC’s stock, underscoring strong professional ownership interest.
• PNC reported better-than-expected earnings of $4.32 per share for the quarter and maintains a 3.2% dividend yield; analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy with a $243.11 target price.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc (NYSE:PNC - Free Report) by 80.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,717 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 20,347 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group were worth $9,554,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Viking Global Investors LP boosted its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 234.9% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 50.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,485,320 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $700,305,000 after purchasing an additional 1,162,964 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 32.6% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 6.0% during the 3rd 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. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $123,940,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PNC shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $252.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $263.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group in a report on Friday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $243.11.

The PNC Financial Services Group Stock Performance

PNC stock opened at $213.24 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market cap of $85.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $213.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $211.19. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc has a 52 week low of $169.32 and a 52 week high of $243.94.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $4.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.51 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Tuesday, May 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 14th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 14th. The PNC Financial Services Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.51%.

Insider Activity at The PNC Financial Services Group

In related news, CEO William S. Demchak sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 554,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $127,970,781.12. This trade represents a 8.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company's stock.

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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