The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc (NYSE:PNC) Shares Acquired by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in The PNC Financial Services Group by 0.7%, now holding approximately 9.60% of the company, valued at $6.67 billion.
• The PNC Financial Services Group's quarterly dividend has been increased from $1.60 to $1.70, reflecting an annual yield of 3.6%.
• The company reported earnings of $3.85 per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations by $0.29, with revenue rising 4.6% year-over-year.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc (NYSE:PNC - Free Report) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 37,965,619 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 248,252 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.60% of The PNC Financial Services Group worth $6,673,217,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ignite Planners LLC raised its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 1,628 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Exane Asset Management raised its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 32.9% during the 1st quarter. Exane Asset Management now owns 149,783 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,434,000 after purchasing an additional 37,110 shares during the last quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management raised its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 72,844 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,804,000 after purchasing an additional 9,836 shares during the last quarter. United Community Bank raised its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 687.0% in the first quarter. United Community Bank now owns 12,325 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,166,000 after buying an additional 10,759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 4.5% in the first quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,802 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $493,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PNC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $178.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $238.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of 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 report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $214.17.

The PNC Financial Services Group Stock Up 1.3%

NYSE:PNC traded up $2.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $189.58. The stock had a trading volume of 1,020,079 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,093,945. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc has a 1-year low of $145.12 and a 1-year high of $216.26. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $187.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $179.97. The company has a market cap of $74.66 billion, a PE ratio of 12.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.09.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.56 by $0.29. The PNC Financial Services Group had a net margin of 18.33% and a return on equity of 11.07%. The company had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.39 earnings per share. The PNC Financial Services Group's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were given a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 15th. This is a positive change from The PNC Financial Services Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. The PNC Financial Services Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The PNC Financial Services Group news, EVP Kieran John Fallon sold 1,492 shares of the company's 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 directly owned 20,490 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,576,734.40. This represents a 6.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO William S. Demchak sold 1,242 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 554,879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $94,190,710.25. The trade was a 0.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,976 shares of company stock worth $693,765. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.