Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Lowers Stake in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) by 1.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,083,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 135,477 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group were worth $1,101,355,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. raised its stake in The PNC Financial Services Group by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. now owns 10,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,648,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 1.8% in the first quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management now owns 4,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $649,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Cooper Financial Group raised its stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 1.7% during the first quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 4,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $685,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Bank lifted its holdings in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 2.0% during the first quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 3,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $576,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA increased its stake in The PNC Financial Services Group by 22.3% in the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. 83.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other The PNC Financial Services Group news, President Michael P. Lyons sold 11,000 shares of The PNC Financial Services Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.58, for a total value of $1,997,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 199,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,151,670.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, President Michael P. Lyons sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the president now owns 199,095 shares in the company, valued at $36,151,670.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO William S. Demchak sold 2,404 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $384,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 564,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $90,341,920. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,263 shares of company stock valued at $4,418,109 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PNC. Evercore ISI lifted their target price 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 price objective on The PNC Financial Services Group from $194.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on The PNC Financial Services Group from $189.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Compass Point downgraded The PNC Financial Services Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on The PNC Financial Services Group from $162.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $176.90.

The PNC Financial Services Group Price Performance

PNC stock opened at $177.24 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $175.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $161.89. The firm has a market cap of $70.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.88, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.14. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $109.40 and a 1 year high of $185.84.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $5.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 business’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.36 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 13.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th were paid a dividend of $1.60 per share. This is a boost from The PNC Financial Services Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 15th. The PNC Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.