Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 9,497 Shares of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC - Free Report) by 572.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,157 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 9,497 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group were worth $2,152,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in The PNC Financial Services Group by 48.5% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 26,758 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,160,000 after purchasing an additional 8,735 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group by 45.6% during the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,185,000 after buying an additional 2,009 shares during the last quarter. BSN CAPITAL PARTNERS Ltd bought a new position in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group during the 3rd quarter worth $12,548,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in The PNC Financial Services Group by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 15,758 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,913,000 after acquiring an additional 1,299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C bought a new stake in The PNC Financial Services Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $822,000. 83.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at The PNC Financial Services Group

In other news, Director Martin Pfinsgraff sold 859 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.12, for a total value of $159,877.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 915 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $170,299.80. The trade was a 48.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Andrew T. Feldstein sold 14,509 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.09, for a total value of $3,048,195.81. Following the sale, the director now owns 38,649 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,119,768.41. This represents a 27.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,030 shares of company stock worth $5,928,202. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

The PNC Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PNC traded up $1.82 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $198.36. 4,465,710 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,593,872. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.71 billion, a PE ratio of 16.77, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.69 and a 52 week high of $216.26. The company's 50 day moving average price is $201.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $187.43.

The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $5.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.51 billion. The PNC Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 14.97%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.16 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 13.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The PNC Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. The PNC Financial Services Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PNC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of The PNC Financial Services Group from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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 research note on Friday. Truist Financial increased their target price on The PNC Financial Services Group from $215.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on The PNC Financial Services Group from $229.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $205.00.

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.