State Street Corp Increases Position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 10.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,683,467 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after buying an additional 713,688 shares during the period. State Street Corp owned about 5.89% of Provident Financial Services worth $142,605,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the third quarter valued at about $508,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,990,000. Royce & Associates LP purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $766,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 37.8% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 222,849 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $3,198,000 after purchasing an additional 61,179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the second quarter worth $2,613,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company's stock.

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 dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total value of $73,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. Company insiders own 4.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Hovde Group began coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Friday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson boosted 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, StockNews.com raised Provident Financial Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.50.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 0.2 %

PFS stock traded up $0.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $20.36. 424,275 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 855,216. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.58 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $20.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.81. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $349.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

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

Provident Financial Services 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.