UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Sells 25,582 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC reduced its position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 11.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 197,778 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after selling 25,582 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.15% of Provident Financial Services worth $3,671,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its position in Provident Financial Services by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 16,672 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 29,402 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $546,000 after acquiring an additional 944 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased 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 worth $58,000 after buying an additional 1,218 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP increased its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 20,616 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 991.2% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,685 shares during the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFS traded up $0.07 on Friday, reaching $20.38. 424,275 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 855,216. 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's 50-day moving average is $20.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.81. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.07 and a fifty-two week high of $22.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $211.25 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.21% and a net margin of 9.55%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.71%. Provident Financial Services's payout ratio is 92.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFS has been the topic of several research reports. DA Davidson raised their price target on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a report on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. Finally, Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Friday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned 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 target price of $23.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Provident Financial Services news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total transaction of $73,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 34,254 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $715,223.52. The trade was a 9.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 4.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Provident Financial Services Company 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.