Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $33.27 Million Position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,792,792 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after purchasing an additional 102,737 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.37% of Provident Financial Services worth $33,274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PFS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 51.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,787,088 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $111,740,000 after acquiring an additional 2,649,643 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 4,245.5% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,996,954 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $56,877,000 after acquiring an additional 3,904,975 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 9.7% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,550,462 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $36,599,000 after acquiring an additional 225,839 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 125.3% in the second quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,690,155 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $24,254,000 after acquiring an additional 939,951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 56.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,612,246 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $23,136,000 after acquiring an additional 582,844 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company's stock.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE:PFS traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $20.96. 390,360 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 866,870. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a one year low of $13.07 and a one year high of $22.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.74 billion, a PE ratio of 19.87 and a beta of 1.06. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $19.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 EPS 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 business had revenue of $349.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.58%. 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

PFS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $23.00.

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.