Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Sells 40,000 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lessened its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 40.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 60,000 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 40,000 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $1,132,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Savant Capital LLC lifted its position in Provident Financial Services by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 10,931 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $206,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 14,240 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 13,422 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 772 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its stake 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 valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 120.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,500 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of PFS opened at $17.07 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.07 and a 52-week high of $22.24. The firm has a market cap of $2.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.25 and a beta of 1.06. The business’s fifty day moving average is $18.09 and its 200-day moving average is $18.99.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.13). Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 10.13% and a return on equity of 5.60%. Equities analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is 91.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PFS shares. Hovde Group assumed coverage on Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.00.

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.