Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 2,758 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 8.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,875 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 2,758 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 51.6% during 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. State Street Corp grew its position in Provident Financial Services by 10.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,683,467 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $142,605,000 after buying an additional 713,688 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Provident Financial Services by 4,245.5% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,996,954 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $56,877,000 after buying an additional 3,904,975 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,947,394 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $54,715,000 after acquiring an additional 53,943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Provident Financial Services by 9.7% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,550,462 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $36,599,000 after acquiring an additional 225,839 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

In other Provident Financial Services news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were 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 directly owns 34,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $715,223.52. This represents a 9.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.50.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE:PFS opened at $18.84 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.07 and a fifty-two week high of $22.24. The firm has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a PE ratio of 18.12 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $20.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.32.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.10%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.