Amundi Increases Stock Position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Amundi boosted its stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 196.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 68,057 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after purchasing an additional 45,085 shares during the period. Amundi owned about 0.05% of Provident Financial Services worth $1,266,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 120.6% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,500 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth $99,000. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 40.7% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,387 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 1,848 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 141.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 7,533 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 4,408 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 35,936.4% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,928 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $151,000 after acquiring an additional 7,906 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFS has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Hovde Group started coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.00.

Provident Financial Services Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Provident Financial Services stock traded down $0.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $16.87. 1,919,496 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 791,811. The stock has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.07 and a beta of 1.06. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $18.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.01. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.07 and a 12-month high of $22.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.13). Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.60% and a net margin of 10.13%. As a group, analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.69%. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.43%.

Provident Financial Services Company Profile

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.