Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Shares Sold by Fmr LLC

FMR LLC cut its stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 18.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 233,700 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after selling 51,814 shares during the quarter. FMR LLC owned about 0.18% of Provident Financial Services worth $4,337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PFS. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in Provident Financial Services by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 29,402 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $546,000 after acquiring an additional 944 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew 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 worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 6.5% in the 3rd 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. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 991.2% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Provident Financial Services by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 39,913 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $573,000 after buying an additional 2,591 shares during the period. 71.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:PFS traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $20.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 424,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 855,216. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.58 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $20.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.87. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $349.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $211.25 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 92.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

In related news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,254 shares in the company, valued at $715,223.52. The trade was a 9.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 4.29% of the company's stock.

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.