Tower Bridge Advisors Buys 1,977 Shares of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc (NYSE:PNC)

Key Points

• Tower Bridge Advisors increased its stake in The PNC Financial Services Group by 15.7%, acquiring an additional 1,977 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 14,599 shares valued at approximately $2.57 million.
• The PNC Financial Services Group announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.70 per share, up from $1.60, reflecting its current dividend yield of 3.52%.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for PNC stock, with a target price averaging around $212.76, following several recent upgrades and downgrades.

Tower Bridge Advisors increased its position in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc (NYSE:PNC - Free Report) by 15.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,599 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,977 shares during the quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors' holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group were worth $2,566,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,041 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $779,000 after purchasing an additional 984 shares in the last quarter. Allianz SE bought a new position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group during the fourth quarter worth $164,000. Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new position in The PNC Financial Services Group during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Summit Financial LLC increased its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 3,643 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $703,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in The PNC Financial Services Group by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 7,999 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,593,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.53% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO William S. Demchak sold 1,242 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.75, for a total value of $210,829.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 554,879 shares of the company's stock, valued at $94,190,710.25. This represents a 0.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kieran John Fallon sold 1,492 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.56, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 6,460 shares of company stock valued at $1,103,563. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PNC. Oppenheimer upgraded The PNC Financial Services Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $238.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on The PNC Financial Services Group from $212.50 to $189.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on The PNC Financial Services Group from $205.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $223.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, The PNC Financial Services Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $214.17.

The PNC Financial Services Group Trading Down 1.3%

The PNC Financial Services Group stock traded down $2.42 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $190.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,669,288 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,475,639. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a 50 day moving average of $185.29 and a 200-day moving average of $180.39. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc has a one year low of $145.12 and a one year high of $216.26. The stock has a market cap of $75.21 billion, a PE ratio of 13.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.07.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.56 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.61 billion. The PNC Financial Services Group had a net margin of 18.33% and a return on equity of 11.07%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.39 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This is an increase from The PNC Financial Services Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. The PNC Financial Services Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.51%.

The PNC Financial Services Group 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.