PNC Financial Services (PNC) Beats Wall Street Again, Did Hedge Funds See It Coming?

Hedge fund activity in PNC Financial Services (NYSE:PNC)

When looking at the hedgies followed by Insider Monkey, Pzena Investment Management, led by Richard S. Pzena, holds the largest position in PNC Financial Services (NYSE:PNC) as of the end of March. Pzena Investment Management holds around 3.4 million shares valued at $316.7 million, comprising 1.8% of its 13F portfolio. On Pzena Investment Management’s heels is Ric Dillon of Diamond Hill Capital with around 2.4 million shares valued at $188.7 million; 0.4% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other hedgies that hold long positions include Cliff Asness’ Aqr Capital Management, Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson‘s Adage Capital Management, David Harding’s Winton Capital Management, and Matthew Hulsizer’s PEAK6 Capital Management.

Leading the bull race for PNC Financial Services (NYSE:PNC) is Pzena Investment Management as well, as they purchased an additional 400,000 shares of the company during the first three months of this year. Matthew Tewksbury’s Stevens Capital Management opened a fresh position in the stock by purchasing around 129,000 shares in the first trimester. But there were a few hedge funds bidding farewell to the stock during the same period. Mark Lee’s Forest Hill Capital sold the largest position in the stock by selling all of its 420,000 shares during the first quarter. Dmitry Balyasny’s Balyasny Asset Management also sold all of its 76,656 shares during the same period.

Overall, the hedge funds were marginally bullish on the stock during the first three months of 2015 and they were right to remain bullish as the company managed to beat the Street’s expectations for the fifth-straight quarter. Considering the bullish behavior of hedge funds and the company’s earnings beat, we recommend a buy on this stock.

Disclosure: None