370,689 Shares in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Bought by Raymond James Financial Inc.

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

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PFS. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth about $55,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $99,000. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 40.7% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,387 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 1,848 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew 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 valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 4,408 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 35,936.4% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,928 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $151,000 after acquiring an additional 7,906 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PFS. Royal Bank of Canada dropped 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised Provident Financial Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.00.

Provident Financial Services Stock Down 2.1 %

Provident Financial Services stock traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $16.52. 1,087,675 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 843,282. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.07 and a twelve month high of $22.24. The company has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.73 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a fifty day moving average of $16.71 and a 200-day moving average of $18.59.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $208.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $206.86 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.60% and a net margin of 10.13%. Sell-side analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.81%. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 86.49%.

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.