Equity Investment Corp Sells 91,557 Shares of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC)

Equity Investment Corp cut its holdings in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 596,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 91,557 shares during the quarter. The PNC Financial Services Group accounts for 2.6% of Equity Investment Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Equity Investment Corp’s holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group were worth $110,323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 0.5% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,818,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,556,195,000 after purchasing an additional 78,407 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 0.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,802,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $746,772,000 after purchasing an additional 18,397 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,500,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $544,335,000 after acquiring an additional 223,955 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,275,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $420,621,000 after acquiring an additional 22,271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,231,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $346,926,000 after acquiring an additional 100,993 shares in the last quarter. 83.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $209.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America upgraded shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $212.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The PNC Financial Services Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The PNC Financial Services Group news, Director Andrew T. Feldstein sold 14,509 shares of The PNC Financial Services Group stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.09, for a total value of $3,048,195.81. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 38,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,119,768.41. The trade was a 27.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO William S. Demchak sold 1,242 shares of The PNC Financial Services Group stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.15, for a total transaction of $218,778.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 555,943 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,929,359.45. This trade represents a 0.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 26,546 shares of company stock valued at $5,277,493 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

The PNC Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PNC opened at $207.68 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $82.40 billion, a PE ratio of 17.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $188.25 and its 200-day moving average is $173.07. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.08 and a 52 week high of $214.19.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.30 by $0.19. The PNC Financial Services Group had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The business had revenue of $5.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.60 earnings per share. The PNC Financial Services Group’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 13.45 earnings per share for the current year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 16th were paid a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 16th. The PNC Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.10%.

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.