Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Position Decreased by Cwm LLC

Cwm LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 59,881 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 3,016 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $1,080,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1,728.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,333 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 6,932 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth about $202,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 8.9% in the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 14,434 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 1,184 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 41.5% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 15,016 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 4,403 shares during the period. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth about $253,000. Institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Provident Financial Services

In related news, Director Robert Mcnerney sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.86, for a total transaction of $89,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $169,223.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on PFS. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $15.00 to $20.00 in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, TheStreet cut shares of Provident Financial Services from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Provident Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.00.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

PFS stock opened at $15.09 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.43 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.08. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.21 and a 52 week high of $19.62.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $114.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $114.50 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 7.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.36%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 60.00%.

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.