Fmr LLC Has $4.34 Million Stock Holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Fmr LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 233,700 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 51,814 shares during the period. Fmr LLC owned approximately 0.18% of Provident Financial Services worth $4,337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PFS. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,685 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 43.0% during the second 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. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Provident Financial Services by 1,779.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,876 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $146,000 after purchasing an additional 7,457 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Provident Financial Services during the second quarter worth about $163,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC bought a new position in Provident Financial Services during the second quarter worth about $178,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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 target price for the company. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock 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 the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total value of $73,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 0.3 %

PFS stock opened at $20.38 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a PE ratio of 19.58 and a beta of 1.06. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a one year low of $13.07 and a one year high of $22.24. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $20.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.11). The firm 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 previous year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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.