Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Shares Acquired by State Street Corp

State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,683,467 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after acquiring an additional 713,688 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp owned 5.89% of Provident Financial Services worth $142,605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 991.2% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,685 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 43.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,050 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 1,779.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,876 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $146,000 after purchasing an additional 7,457 shares in the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Provident Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $163,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC bought a new position in Provident Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $178,000. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of Provident Financial Services stock opened at $20.38 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.66 billion, a PE ratio of 19.60 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.07 and a 12 month high of $22.24.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.11). Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.21% and a net margin of 9.55%. The business had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.25 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.71%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is 92.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PFS. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com raised Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. Finally, Hovde Group began coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research note on Friday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total transaction of $73,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $715,223.52. This trade represents a 9.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 4.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Provident Financial Services

Provident Financial Services, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Provident Bank that provides various banking products and services to individuals, families, and businesses in the United States. Its deposit products include savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, money market deposit, and certificate of deposit accounts, as well as IRA products.