Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 104,564 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after selling 28,811 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned about 0.08% of Provident Financial Services worth $1,941,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 7.4% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 14,856 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $216,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 43.0% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,050 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 991.2% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 9.8% during the second quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 21,844 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 1,945 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on PFS. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com cut Provident Financial Services from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Provident Financial Services from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $23.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total transaction of $99,476.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,656 shares in the company, valued at $1,603,787.04. The trade was a 5.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.29% of the company's stock.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Provident Financial Services stock traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $21.16. 398,412 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 882,151. The firm's fifty day moving average is $19.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.14. The company has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58 and a beta of 1.03. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.07 and a fifty-two week high of $22.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.11). Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 5.21%. The firm had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Provident Financial Services's payout ratio is 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.