The PNC Financial Services Group Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:PNC)

The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 33,084 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 1,149% compared to the average daily volume of 2,648 call options.

The PNC Financial Services Group Price Performance

PNC traded down $4.17 on Thursday, hitting $196.27. 3,234,630 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,251,998. The PNC Financial Services Group has a one year low of $139.69 and a one year high of $216.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market cap of $77.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $201.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $186.58.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $5.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. The PNC Financial Services Group had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.16 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The PNC Financial Services Group will post 13.47 EPS for the current year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The PNC Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is 54.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Andrew T. Feldstein sold 14,509 shares of The PNC Financial Services Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $8,119,768.41. The trade was a 27.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Martin Pfinsgraff sold 859 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.12, for a total transaction of $159,877.08. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $170,299.80. The trade was a 48.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,272 shares of company stock worth $6,164,890. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The PNC Financial Services Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PNC. Winch Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in The PNC Financial Services Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its stake in The PNC Financial Services Group by 20,000.0% during the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in The PNC Financial Services Group by 141.7% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group in the 3rd quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 231.6% in the 3rd quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. 83.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PNC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on The PNC Financial Services Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $212.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, The PNC Financial Services Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $203.29.

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.