Heartland Advisors Inc. Trims Holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC)

Heartland Advisors Inc. decreased its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 550 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group were worth $4,685,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PNC. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its stake in The PNC Financial Services Group by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group by 3.1% during 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 period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 2,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $434,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $616,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. boosted 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 valued at $773,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO William S. Demchak sold 1,242 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.88, for a total value of $239,556.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 526,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,515,251.44. This represents a 0.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,420 shares of company stock worth $2,342,313. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

The PNC Financial Services Group Trading Down 1.8 %

PNC stock opened at $171.83 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $68.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.50, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $187.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $192.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $143.52 and a 52-week high of $216.26.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.16 EPS. The PNC Financial Services Group’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were issued a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. The PNC Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is 46.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on PNC. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $235.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Barclays increased their price objective on The PNC Financial Services Group from $229.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $211.00 to $188.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, The PNC Financial Services Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $204.25.

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.