Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Purchases 726,115 Shares of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,538,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 726,115 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 1.90% of The PNC Financial Services Group worth $1,453,763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV bought a new stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group during the fourth quarter worth about $1,214,000. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in The PNC Financial Services Group by 186.0% during the 4th quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 399,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $76,878,000 after purchasing an additional 259,705 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP increased its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group by 110.7% during the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 38,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,429,000 after purchasing an additional 20,239 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $397,000. Finally, Tradewinds LLC. bought a new position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $373,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PNC. HSBC upgraded The PNC Financial Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $206.00 to $202.00 in a report on Monday. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $229.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $199.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $211.00 to $188.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, The PNC Financial Services Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $204.12.

The PNC Financial Services Group Price Performance

NYSE PNC opened at $174.58 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $69.09 billion, a PE ratio of 12.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.13. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $143.52 and a 52 week high of $216.26. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $186.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $192.18.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.51. The PNC Financial Services Group had a net margin of 17.10% and a return on equity of 11.12%. The company had revenue of $5.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.16 EPS. The PNC Financial Services Group’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. The PNC Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The PNC Financial Services Group

In other news, CEO William S. Demchak sold 1,242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.11, for a total value of $251,020.62. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 522,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $105,620,058.57. This represents a 0.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 13,662 shares of company stock valued at $2,559,389 in the last quarter. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.