Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Takes $5.03 Million Position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 266,368 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,026,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.20% of Provident Financial Services at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PFS. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth $2,045,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 51.6% in the second 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 buying an additional 2,649,643 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,990,000. Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 73.2% during the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 39,737 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $570,000 after purchasing an additional 16,800 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the second quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Provident Financial Services

In related news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total value of $73,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $715,223.52. The trade was a 9.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 4.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Hovde Group began 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. StockNews.com cut Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.50.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of Provident Financial Services stock opened at $19.30 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $19.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.85. The stock has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of 18.56 and a beta of 1.08. 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 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.11). Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 5.21%. The business had revenue of $349.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $211.25 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.97%. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is 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.