Prospector Partners LLC Has $17.75 Million Position in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC)

Prospector Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 92,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. The PNC Financial Services Group accounts for 2.0% of Prospector Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Prospector Partners LLC’s holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group were worth $17,751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PNC. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 2,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in The PNC Financial Services Group by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $616,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $773,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 2,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $537,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. 83.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PNC. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $229.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on The PNC Financial Services Group from $212.50 to $189.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. 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. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded The PNC Financial Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $205.18.

The PNC Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PNC opened at $152.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $184.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $191.73. The stock has a market cap of $60.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.12, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.04. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $143.52 and a fifty-two week high of $216.26.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.51. The PNC Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 11.12% and a net margin of 17.10%. The company had revenue of $5.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.16 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 16th will be issued a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 16th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.19%. The PNC Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.55%.

Insider Activity at The PNC Financial Services Group

In other The PNC Financial Services Group news, CEO William S. Demchak sold 1,242 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.78, for a total value of $217,076.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 564,815 shares in the company, valued at approximately $98,718,365.70. This trade represents a 0.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 12,420 shares of company stock valued at $2,320,739 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.