Brandes Investment Partners LP Purchases 81,841 Shares of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC)

Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) by 10.0% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 901,415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 81,841 shares during the quarter. The PNC Financial Services Group accounts for about 1.7% of Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group were worth $139,954,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PNC. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. increased its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group by 0.6% in the second quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. now owns 10,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,648,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC now owns 2,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,110,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management now owns 4,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $649,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Cooper Financial Group boosted its stake in The PNC Financial Services Group by 1.7% during the first quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 4,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $685,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 83.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The PNC Financial Services Group news, CEO William S. Demchak sold 641 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.10, for a total transaction of $101,342.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 567,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $89,649,182.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other The PNC Financial Services Group news, CEO William S. Demchak sold 641 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.10, for a total transaction of $101,342.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 567,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,649,182.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO William S. Demchak sold 1,242 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.50, for a total value of $208,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 563,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $94,368,662.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,223 shares of company stock valued at $4,453,360. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on PNC. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $179.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Bank of America raised The PNC Financial Services Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $185.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on The PNC Financial Services Group from $155.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on The PNC Financial Services Group from $184.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on The PNC Financial Services Group from $194.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine 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 $176.90.

The PNC Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PNC opened at $183.07 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $72.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50-day moving average is $177.92 and its 200 day moving average is $164.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.83. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.40 and a fifty-two week high of $187.78.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.30. The PNC Financial Services Group had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 11.33%. The firm had revenue of $5.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.36 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th were given a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 15th. This is a boost from The PNC Financial Services Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. The PNC Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.74%.

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.