State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Lowers Stock Position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lessened its holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 21.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 104,564 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 28,811 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned 0.08% of Provident Financial Services worth $1,941,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFS. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 4,245.5% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,996,954 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $56,877,000 after purchasing an additional 3,904,975 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 51.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,787,088 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $111,740,000 after purchasing an additional 2,649,643 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 125.3% during the 2nd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,690,155 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $24,254,000 after acquiring an additional 939,951 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 56.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,612,246 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $23,136,000 after acquiring an additional 582,844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,990,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total value of $99,476.91. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,603,787.04. This represents a 5.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 4.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Provident Financial Services Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Provident Financial Services stock opened at $21.40 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $19.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.07 and a twelve month high of $22.23. The stock has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58 and a beta of 1.03.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $211.25 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 5.21%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.49%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.00.

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.