Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Invests $177,000 in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $177,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 150,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,823,000 after buying an additional 65,620 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 2.6% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 140,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,049,000 after acquiring an additional 3,612 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its position in The PNC Financial Services Group by 231.6% during the 3rd quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP raised its stake in The PNC Financial Services Group by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 25,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,762,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,557,000 after purchasing an additional 1,381 shares in the last quarter. 83.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on PNC shares. Compass Point lowered shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on The PNC Financial Services Group from $179.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays raised their price objective on The PNC Financial Services Group from $209.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on The PNC Financial Services Group from $212.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on The PNC Financial Services Group from $204.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $185.71.

The PNC Financial Services Group Stock Performance

NYSE:PNC opened at $211.04 on Wednesday. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $118.89 and a twelve month high of $211.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.84, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $186.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $171.55.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.30 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $5.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. The PNC Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 14.97%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 13.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 16th were paid a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 16th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The PNC Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.10%.

Insider Transactions at The PNC Financial Services Group

In related news, CEO William S. Demchak sold 1,242 shares of The PNC Financial Services Group stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.57, for a total transaction of $236,687.94. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 546,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,052,553.99. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other The PNC Financial Services Group news, CEO William S. Demchak sold 1,242 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.57, for a total transaction of $236,687.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 546,007 shares in the company, valued at $104,052,553.99. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Martin Pfinsgraff sold 859 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.12, for a total value of $159,877.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $170,299.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,279 shares of company stock valued at $2,442,673. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

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.