Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases Shares of 370,689 Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 370,689 shares of the savings and loans company's stock, valued at approximately $6,994,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.28% of Provident Financial Services as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 120.6% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $99,000. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 40.7% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,387 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,848 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 141.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 7,533 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $142,000 after buying an additional 4,408 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 35,936.4% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,928 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $151,000 after buying an additional 7,906 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PFS shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased 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 initiated coverage on Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Provident Financial Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.00.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of PFS traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $17.40. The company had a trading volume of 427,303 shares, compared to its average volume of 616,914. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a one year low of $13.07 and a one year high of $22.24. The company's fifty day moving average price is $18.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.99. The company has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a PE ratio of 16.57 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

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

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 91.43%.

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.