Investors Buy High Volume of Put Options on The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC)

The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc (NYSE:PNC) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders bought 3,503 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 64% compared to the average daily volume of 2,135 put options.

The PNC Financial Services Group Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of PNC traded down $1.95 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $211.94. The company had a trading volume of 1,274,611 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,163,235. The stock has a market cap of $83.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.69, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $193.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $193.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The PNC Financial Services Group has a 52 week low of $145.12 and a 52 week high of $214.59.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $4.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $5.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.82 billion. The PNC Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 11.47% and a net margin of 19.30%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.49 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that The PNC Financial Services Group will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 14th were issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 14th. The PNC Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is 43.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PNC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $210.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on The PNC Financial Services Group from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on The PNC Financial Services Group from $215.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $219.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The PNC Financial Services Group news, EVP Guild Deborah sold 1,080 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.97, for a total transaction of $201,927.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 27,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,110,824.95. This trade represents a 3.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Duane Thomas sold 1,000 shares of The PNC Financial Services Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.57, for a total transaction of $183,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,065,073.14. This represents a 14.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The PNC Financial Services Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its stake in The PNC Financial Services Group by 28.1% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 29,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,159,000 after acquiring an additional 6,430 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 204,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,193,000 after purchasing an additional 7,478 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its position in The PNC Financial Services Group by 115.1% during the second quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 5,631 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,050,000 after acquiring an additional 3,013 shares during the period. OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $573,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group by 134.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,338,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $622,450,000 after buying an additional 1,917,530 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.53% of the company’s stock.

The PNC Financial Services Group Company 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.