Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. Lowers Holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC)

Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. lowered its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 23,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 774 shares during the quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC.’s holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group were worth $4,444,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in The PNC Financial Services Group by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,717,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,273,794,000 after acquiring an additional 268,827 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,835,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,089,622,000 after purchasing an additional 549,278 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,538,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,453,763,000 after purchasing an additional 726,115 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,352,151,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,695,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $905,530,000 after purchasing an additional 608,375 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on PNC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of 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, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on The PNC Financial Services Group from $179.00 to $178.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays reduced their price objective on The PNC Financial Services Group from $257.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on The PNC Financial Services Group from $180.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, HSBC upgraded The PNC Financial Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $206.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.67.

The PNC Financial Services Group Stock Performance

NYSE:PNC opened at $177.36 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $70.16 billion, a PE ratio of 12.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $165.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $186.07. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $145.12 and a 1-year high of $216.26.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.04. 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 $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.50 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 16th were paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 16th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. The PNC Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is currently 45.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO William S. Demchak sold 1,242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.45, for a total transaction of $239,022.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 571,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $109,893,761.25. This represents a 0.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Martin Pfinsgraff purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $158.22 per share, for a total transaction of $158,220.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,009 shares in the company, valued at $317,863.98. The trade was a 99.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,638 shares of company stock worth $3,012,095. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About The PNC Financial Services Group

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.