Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 54.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 102,469 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after selling 120,380 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.08% of Provident Financial Services worth $1,902,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of 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 buying 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 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,996,954 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $56,877,000 after purchasing an additional 3,904,975 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,550,462 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $36,599,000 after purchasing an additional 225,839 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 939,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Provident Financial Services by 56.6% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,612,246 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $23,136,000 after buying an additional 582,844 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company's stock.

Provident Financial Services Trading Down 1.0 %

PFS traded down $0.21 on Friday, hitting $21.12. The company had a trading volume of 409,660 shares, compared to its average volume of 871,319. 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 cap of $2.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.51 and a beta of 1.03. The company's fifty day moving average price is $19.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.47. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.25 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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