Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Shares Purchased by International Assets Investment Management LLC

International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 1,779.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,876 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,457 shares during the quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $146,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PFS. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 1.4% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 66,113 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $963,000 after buying an additional 885 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 14,856 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $216,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 43.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,050 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in Provident Financial Services by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 43,930 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $640,000 after purchasing an additional 1,637 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 991.2% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685 shares in the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Provident Financial Services Trading Down 2.9 %

NYSE:PFS opened at $21.16 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.35 and a beta of 1.03. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a one year low of $13.07 and a one year high of $22.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.85.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.54%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total value of $99,476.91. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,603,787.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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.