The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc $PNC Shares Sold by Bank of Montreal Can

Key Points

• Bank of Montreal trimmed its stake in PNC by 2.4%, selling 20,767 shares to hold 847,852 shares (0.22% of the company) valued at about $170.36 million at quarter end.
• Analysts have pushed up price targets—JPMorgan to $251, Barclays to $271 and Oppenheimer to $284—leaving an average target of $234.44 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" (15 Buys, 5 Holds, 1 Sell).
• CEO William S. Demchak sold 50,000 shares for roughly $11.54 million, and insiders sold about 64,186 shares (~$14.84 million) during the quarter, reducing insider ownership to ~0.41%.

Bank of Montreal Can lowered its stake in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc (NYSE:PNC - Free Report) by 2.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 847,852 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 20,767 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.22% of The PNC Financial Services Group worth $170,359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PNC. Kennebec Savings Bank raised its stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 1.6% in the third quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 3,424 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $688,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. SCS Capital Management LLC boosted its position in The PNC Financial Services Group by 0.6% in the second quarter. SCS Capital Management LLC now owns 8,527 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,590,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Webster Bank N. A. boosted its position in The PNC Financial Services Group by 0.5% in the third quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 10,975 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,205,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership increased its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 2,537 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $510,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. increased its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 1,420 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. 83.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on PNC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $228.50 to $251.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $235.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $228.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $252.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on The PNC Financial Services Group from $268.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.44.

The PNC Financial Services Group Price Performance

NYSE:PNC opened at $206.27 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $221.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $205.29. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc has a 1-year low of $145.12 and a 1-year high of $243.94. The firm has a market cap of $83.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.98.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $4.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.23 by $0.65. The PNC Financial Services Group had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 11.87%. The firm had revenue of $6.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.77 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The PNC Financial Services Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO William S. Demchak sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.88, for a total value of $11,544,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 554,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $127,970,781.12. This represents a 8.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Louis Robert Cestello sold 4,279 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.01, for a total value of $1,001,328.79. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,415,066.67. The trade was a 18.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 64,186 shares of company stock valued at $14,840,973 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

The PNC Financial Services Group Profile

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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