Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Grows Stake in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its stake in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) by 2,323.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,289 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,493 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group were worth $3,117,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,039,481,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,046,226 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 14.4% during the fourth 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 during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,766,157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $738,039,000 after purchasing an additional 778,264 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 15,539.2% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 644,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $99,727,000 after purchasing an additional 639,903 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on The PNC Financial Services Group from $151.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on The PNC Financial Services Group from $184.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on The PNC Financial Services Group from $171.00 to $162.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com upgraded The PNC Financial Services Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, HSBC upgraded The PNC Financial Services Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $141.00 to $155.00 in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The PNC Financial Services Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.83.

The PNC Financial Services Group Stock Performance

Shares of PNC stock opened at $153.20 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $154.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.55. The company has a market cap of $60.96 billion, a PE ratio of 12.86, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.40 and a 12-month high of $162.24.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.09 by $0.01. The PNC Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 11.64% and a net margin of 16.05%. The business had revenue of $5.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.98 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 12.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, May 5th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th were given a $1.55 dividend. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. The PNC Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is 52.06%.

Insider Activity at The PNC Financial Services Group

In other The PNC Financial Services Group 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 value of $132,489.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $545,856.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.