Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS Shares Acquired by Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) by 32.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,957 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,687 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 447.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,505 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,230 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 30.0% during the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,893 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 667 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the first quarter valued at about $156,000. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the first quarter worth about $178,000. Finally, City Center Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the second quarter worth about $186,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE PFS opened at $18.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $19.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.00. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 1-year low of $14.34 and a 1-year high of $22.24.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 17th. The savings and loans company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 16.97% and a return on equity of 8.80%. The business had revenue of $114.54 million during the quarter. As a group, analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on PFS shares. DA Davidson lowered shares of Provident Financial Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Provident Financial Services in a report on Thursday, June 26th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $21.00 price objective on the stock. Hovde Group increased their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $22.50 to $23.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Zacks Research downgraded Provident Financial Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Provident Financial Services

In other news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.90, for a total transaction of $59,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $788,696.70. This represents a 7.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John Pugliese sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.91, for a total value of $497,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 87,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,750,228.37. The trade was a 22.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

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.