Park Avenue Securities LLC Reduces Stake in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC)

Park Avenue Securities LLC lessened its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) by 1.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 186 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group were worth $1,704,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PNC. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 23.3% in the 1st quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 8,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,371,000 after purchasing an additional 1,604 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 112,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,472,000 after buying an additional 14,750 shares during the period. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL raised its stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 251,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,937,000 after buying an additional 13,648 shares during the period. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,200,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,548,543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $239,792,000 after acquiring an additional 6,657 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PNC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $184.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $194.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on The PNC Financial Services Group from $165.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com upgraded The PNC Financial Services Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on The PNC Financial Services Group from $163.50 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $176.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Michael P. Lyons sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.58, for a total transaction of $1,997,380.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 199,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,151,670.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO William S. Demchak sold 641 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.08, for a total value of $98,124.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 567,682 shares in the company, valued at $86,900,760.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Michael P. Lyons sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.58, for a total transaction of $1,997,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 199,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,151,670.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,295 shares of company stock valued at $3,547,181 over the last three months. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

The PNC Financial Services Group Price Performance

The PNC Financial Services Group stock traded down $2.26 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $166.83. 1,729,117 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,942,672. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.40 and a 12-month high of $182.84. The company has a market cap of $66.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.01, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $162.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $156.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.30. The PNC Financial Services Group had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 11.33%. The firm had revenue of $5.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.36 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th were issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 15th. This is a positive change 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 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.