Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Buys 7,435 Shares of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its stake in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) by 66.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 18,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,435 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group were worth $2,872,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 6.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,326,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,758,880,000 after purchasing an additional 893,808 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 10.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,164,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $634,024,000 after purchasing an additional 484,475 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 2.0% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,702,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $577,267,000 after purchasing an additional 93,636 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 1.0% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,858,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $473,767,000 after purchasing an additional 36,362 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 2.5% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,327,229 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $408,485,000 after purchasing an additional 82,406 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PNC has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $171.00 to $162.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $184.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $185.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $142.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $151.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, The PNC Financial Services Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $157.02.

The PNC Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PNC opened at $156.22 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $153.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $144.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.12, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.16. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. has a one year low of $109.40 and a one year high of $162.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

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

The PNC Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, May 5th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.55 per share. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. The PNC Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.06%.

Insider Activity at The PNC Financial Services Group

In related news, EVP Michael J. Hannon sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.82, for a total transaction of $446,460.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,442,347.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.