Covington Investment Advisors Inc. Takes $20.95 Million Position in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc $PNC

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc (NYSE:PNC) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 85,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $20,949,000. The PNC Financial Services Group accounts for about 2.7% of Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PNC. Cvfg LLC boosted its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Cvfg LLC now owns 1,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Trust Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 1.0% during the second quarter. Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 4,457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,097,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 3.0% in the first quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Atom Investors LP raised its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Atom Investors LP now owns 2,534 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $529,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Flavin Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in The PNC Financial Services Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Flavin Financial Services Inc. now owns 13,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,847,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 83.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael Duane Thomas sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.14, for a total value of $357,210.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,204,750.26. This trade represents a 22.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Stacy M. Juchno sold 3,354 shares of The PNC Financial Services Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.84, for a total transaction of $858,087.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 18,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,809,792. This represents a 15.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 51,654 shares of company stock valued at $11,552,661 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Argus lifted their price target on The PNC Financial Services Group from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on The PNC Financial Services Group from $263.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on The PNC Financial Services Group from $277.00 to $284.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered The PNC Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $265.73.

The PNC Financial Services Group Price Performance

PNC opened at $243.05 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $248.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $229.35. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc has a fifty-two week low of $176.88 and a fifty-two week high of $258.96. The firm has a market cap of $96.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.91.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.46 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $6.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.51 billion. The PNC Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 21.41%.The business’s revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.85 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc will post 19.25 earnings per share for the current year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th were paid a dividend of $2.00 per share. This represents a $8.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 20th. This is an increase from The PNC Financial Services Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The PNC Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.03%.

The PNC Financial Services Group Company Profile

The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, offering a broad range of banking, lending, investment and wealth management services. PNC operates a national banking franchise with a significant retail branch network and dedicated capabilities for commercial, institutional and government clients. Its services are designed to serve individuals, small businesses, corporations and public sector entities across the United States.

PNC’s core business activities include consumer and business banking, residential mortgage lending, corporate and institutional banking, asset management and wealth advisory services.