First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Buys 1,812 Shares of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) by 22.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,812 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group were worth $1,541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Steph & Co. increased its stake in The PNC Financial Services Group by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 3,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $576,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Bangor Savings Bank raised its stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 5,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $888,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. raised its stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC increased its position in The PNC Financial Services Group by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 8,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,328,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Advisors LLC grew its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group by 0.8% during the third quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 10,902 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,338,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. 83.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PNC shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on The PNC Financial Services Group from $142.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut The PNC Financial Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on The PNC Financial Services Group from $171.00 to $162.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on The PNC Financial Services Group from $151.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on The PNC Financial Services Group from $163.50 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $157.02.

Insider Activity at The PNC Financial Services Group

In related news, EVP Michael J. Hannon sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.82, for a total value of $446,460.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,442,347.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

The PNC Financial Services Group Stock Up 1.1 %

PNC stock opened at $155.68 on Friday. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.40 and a 12-month high of $162.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a market cap of $61.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.07, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50 day moving average of $153.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $144.15.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $0.01. The PNC Financial Services Group had a net margin of 16.05% and a return on equity of 11.64%. The company had revenue of $5.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.98 EPS. The PNC Financial Services Group’s quarterly revenue was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 12.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.98%. The PNC Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.06%.

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.