Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 78,185 Shares of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lowered its stake in The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,432,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 78,185 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.36% of The PNC Financial Services Group worth $276,230,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 1.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,275,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $420,621,000 after purchasing an additional 22,271 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in The PNC Financial Services Group by 25.6% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 18,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,365,000 after buying an additional 3,711 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group by 81.2% during the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 4,708 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $870,000 after acquiring an additional 2,110 shares during the period. Fiduciary Trust Co lifted its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 40.2% in the third quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 11,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,127,000 after acquiring an additional 3,301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 88.1% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 585,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $108,217,000 after acquiring an additional 274,186 shares during the period. 83.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on PNC. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on The PNC Financial Services Group from $211.00 to $188.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $199.00 to $208.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on The PNC Financial Services Group from $229.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on The PNC Financial Services Group from $235.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The PNC Financial Services Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $204.25.

Insider Activity

In other The PNC Financial Services Group news, CEO William S. Demchak sold 1,242 shares of The PNC Financial Services Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total transaction of $213,624.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 566,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,361,804. The trade was a 0.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,420 shares of company stock valued at $2,342,313. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

The PNC Financial Services Group Stock Performance

Shares of PNC opened at $171.83 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $143.52 and a 52-week high of $216.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $187.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $192.10. The company has a market capitalization of $68.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.13.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.51. The PNC Financial Services Group had a net margin of 17.10% and a return on equity of 11.12%. The business had revenue of $5.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.16 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were issued a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. The PNC Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is currently 46.55%.

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.