D.A. Davidson & CO. Sells 1,573 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

D.A. Davidson & CO. lowered its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 27,829 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 1,573 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $525,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Provident Financial Services by 120.6% during the third 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 during the period. KBC Group NV grew its position in Provident Financial Services by 40.7% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,387 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 1,848 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew 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 valued at $146,000 after buying an additional 7,457 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Provident Financial Services by 35,936.4% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,928 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $151,000 after buying an additional 7,906 shares during the period. Finally, Haverford Trust Co bought a new position in Provident Financial Services during the third quarter valued at about $187,000. Institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFS has been the subject of several research reports. Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price target 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of 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 target price 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 analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.00.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

PFS stock opened at $17.96 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $18.86 and a 200-day moving average of $19.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.07 and a 12 month high of $22.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.10 and a beta of 1.07.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.37 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.35%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.43%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 trade represents a 9.27 % 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. 4.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.