ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its stake in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,816 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 314 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group were worth $901,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in The PNC Financial Services Group in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in The PNC Financial Services Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in The PNC Financial Services Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in The PNC Financial Services Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC grew its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 350.0% in the 4th quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.53% of the company’s stock.

The PNC Financial Services Group Stock Performance

NYSE:PNC traded up $4.41 on Friday, hitting $152.30. The stock had a trading volume of 2,370,097 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,588,026. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $151.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $141.95. The stock has a market cap of $60.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.18. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.40 and a 52-week high of $162.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. The PNC Financial Services Group had a net margin of 16.05% and a return on equity of 11.64%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.98 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 12.62 earnings per share for the current year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, May 5th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.07%. The PNC Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The PNC Financial Services Group

In other news, EVP Michael J. Hannon sold 3,000 shares of The PNC Financial Services Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.82, for a total transaction of $446,460.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,442,347.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised The PNC Financial Services Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on The PNC Financial Services Group from $151.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on The PNC Financial Services Group from $142.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $152.00 target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $185.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $156.63.

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.