PNC Hikes Dividend by 8%, Fetches 2.6% Yield

PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. PNC disclosed that its board had declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.55 per share. This represented an increase of $0.04 per share, or 8 percent, from the second quarter dividend of $0.51 per share. For the full year, it worked out to be $2.20 a share.

The dividend offered 2.6 percent yield, which is higher than the five-year average yield of 2.2 percent. PNC Financial pays nearly 28 percent of its profit as dividend, which was modestly higher than the average 27 percent recorded in the five-year period.

The company said it fixed July 18 as the record date and that the dividend would be payable on Aug. 5 to all shareholders.

PNC Chairman, president and CEO, William Demchak, commented, "Today's board action provides an expanded and well-deserved return to our shareholders. Our strong capital levels, extensive products and services, and Main Street delivery position PNC to continue supporting our clients, investing in our businesses and delivering greater shareholder value over the long term."

The company has been increasing its dividend in the last five straight years. As a result, its five-year average growth rate of 31.78 percent. For the three-year period, the average growth was 7.57 percent.

The stock traded 0.45 percent down on Thursday.