WBI Investments LLC Decreases Stake in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC)

WBI Investments LLC lowered its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) by 4.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 157 shares during the quarter. WBI Investments LLC’s holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group were worth $498,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PNC. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 4.4% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 53,954 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,624,000 after acquiring an additional 2,253 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 8.2% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 16,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,999,000 after acquiring an additional 1,231 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 1.0% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,858,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $473,767,000 after acquiring an additional 36,362 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 17.9% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 59,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,271,000 after acquiring an additional 9,008 shares during the period. Finally, Comerica Bank grew its position in The PNC Financial Services Group by 193.8% during the third quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 130,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,022,000 after buying an additional 86,087 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at The PNC Financial Services Group

In other news, CEO William S. Demchak sold 641 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.10, for a total value of $101,342.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 567,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,649,182.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other The PNC Financial Services Group news, EVP Richard Kevin Bynum sold 850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.87, for a total value of $132,489.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $545,856.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO William S. Demchak sold 641 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.10, for a total transaction of $101,342.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 567,041 shares in the company, valued at $89,649,182.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,773 shares of company stock worth $430,151 in the last ninety days. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

The PNC Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PNC traded up $4.47 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $168.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,622,071 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,874,045. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $155.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $67.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.15. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.40 and a 12-month high of $169.11.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $5.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. The PNC Financial Services Group had a net margin of 16.05% and a return on equity of 11.64%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.98 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 12.65 EPS for the current year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be issued a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. This is a positive change from The PNC Financial Services Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. The PNC Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is presently 52.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on PNC. StockNews.com upgraded shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $185.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC upgraded shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $141.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $163.50 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $159.63.

About The PNC Financial Services Group

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.