Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Shares Bought by CIBC Asset Management Inc

CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,422 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after acquiring an additional 772 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PFS. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 820 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 40.7% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,387 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,848 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1,779.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 7,457 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 35,936.4% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,928 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 7,906 shares during the period. Finally, Haverford Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the third quarter valued at about $187,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on PFS shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. 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 target price for the company. DA Davidson lifted 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. 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.00.

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

In other news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total transaction 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 $715,223.52. The trade was a 9.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of PFS opened at $17.96 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.10 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50-day moving average of $18.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.14. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.07 and a 12-month high of $22.24.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 5.60% and a net margin of 10.13%. As a group, research analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. 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 presently 91.43%.

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.