Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Shares Purchased by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 39.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 316,953 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after buying an additional 90,238 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned 0.24% of Provident Financial Services worth $5,883,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFS. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 16,672 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 3.3% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 29,402 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $546,000 after purchasing an additional 944 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 43.0% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,050 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 1,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 6.5% during the third quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 20,616 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $383,000 after buying an additional 1,257 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFS has been the topic of several recent research reports. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Hovde Group initiated coverage on Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised Provident Financial Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $23.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of PFS stock traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $19.06. 2,095,635 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 857,966. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company's 50 day moving average is $20.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.03. The company has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.33 and a beta of 1.06. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $13.07 and a 1 year high of $22.24.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $211.25 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.21% and a net margin of 9.55%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.31%.

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.