Proficio Capital Partners LLC Makes New $513,000 Investment in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 27,211 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $513,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Savant Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 13,422 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 772 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 5.1% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 16,672 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 120.6% in 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 last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 3.3% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 29,402 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $546,000 after buying an additional 944 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total transaction of $73,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 34,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $715,223.52. The trade was a 9.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 4.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFS has been the subject of several analyst reports. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a 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. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Hovde Group started coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.00.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of PFS stock opened at $17.21 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.16. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.07 and a 52 week high of $22.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a PE ratio of 16.39 and a beta of 1.06.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its earnings results 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 91.43%.

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.