Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Reduces Stock Position in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC)

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. cut its stake in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 264 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group were worth $3,518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,739,631 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,437,361,000 after buying an additional 1,978,854 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,039,481,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in The PNC Financial Services Group by 165.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,888,327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $756,957,000 after acquiring an additional 3,046,226 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,766,157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $738,039,000 after acquiring an additional 778,264 shares during the period. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC lifted its stake in The PNC Financial Services Group by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 3,672,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $568,662,000 after purchasing an additional 114,960 shares in the last quarter. 83.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Richard Kevin Bynum sold 850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.87, for a total transaction of $132,489.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,502 shares in the company, valued at $545,856.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other The PNC Financial Services Group news, CEO William S. Demchak sold 1,242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.67, for a total transaction of $219,424.14. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 562,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $99,315,570.51. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard Kevin Bynum sold 850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.87, for a total transaction of $132,489.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $545,856.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,661 shares of company stock valued at $1,242,250 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PNC shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on The PNC Financial Services Group from $194.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Bank of America lifted their price target on The PNC Financial Services Group from $169.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $165.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $152.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $175.34.

The PNC Financial Services Group Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:PNC traded up $1.47 on Tuesday, reaching $178.62. 1,332,452 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,923,525. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $158.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $109.40 and a 52 week high of $180.97.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $5.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. The PNC Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 11.33% and a net margin of 15.53%. The PNC Financial Services Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.36 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 12.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. This is a boost from The PNC Financial Services Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. The PNC Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.74%.

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.