The PNC Financial Services Group Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:PNC)

The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders bought 33,084 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,149% compared to the average volume of 2,648 call options.

The PNC Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of The PNC Financial Services Group stock opened at $195.81 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $201.75 and a 200-day moving average of $186.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The PNC Financial Services Group has a 52-week low of $139.69 and a 52-week high of $216.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.16.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.30 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $5.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. The PNC Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 14.97%. The PNC Financial Services Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.60 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that The PNC Financial Services Group will post 13.45 EPS for the current year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. The PNC Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on The PNC Financial Services Group from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $212.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on The PNC Financial Services Group from $229.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Compass Point upped their target price on The PNC Financial Services Group from $175.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $203.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The PNC Financial Services Group news, Director Andrew T. Feldstein sold 14,509 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.09, for a total transaction of $3,048,195.81. Following the sale, the director now owns 38,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,119,768.41. The trade was a 27.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO William S. Demchak sold 1,242 shares of The PNC Financial Services Group stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.57, for a total value of $236,687.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 546,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $104,052,553.99. This trade represents a 0.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,272 shares of company stock valued at $6,164,890. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The PNC Financial Services Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PNC. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. now owns 16,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,205,000 after buying an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. USA Financial Formulas boosted its stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 212.4% during the 4th quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 4,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $775,000 after purchasing an additional 2,733 shares in the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC now owns 4,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $852,000 after buying an additional 643 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its stake in The PNC Financial Services Group by 460.7% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.53% of the company’s stock.

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.