Conning Inc. Decreases Position in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC)

Conning Inc. lowered its stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) by 17.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 238,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 51,880 shares during the quarter. The PNC Financial Services Group accounts for about 1.3% of Conning Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Conning Inc. owned 0.06% of The PNC Financial Services Group worth $36,889,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Crumly & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in The PNC Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $459,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group during the 4th quarter worth $3,732,000. Simplicity Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 13,142 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,035,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL increased its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 251,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,937,000 after buying an additional 13,648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in The PNC Financial Services Group during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. 83.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

The PNC Financial Services Group Stock Performance

Shares of PNC stock traded down $1.88 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $150.63. 1,487,412 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,645,833. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company’s 50 day moving average is $151.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.15. The company has a market cap of $59.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.18. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $109.40 and a 1 year high of $162.24.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $1.04. The firm had revenue of $5.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.30 billion. The PNC Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 12.27% and a net margin of 17.50%. The PNC Financial Services Group’s revenue was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.49 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 12.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, May 5th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.55 per share. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. The PNC Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PNC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on The PNC Financial Services Group from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. 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 report on Thursday, March 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $164.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $142.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.10.

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.