Bank of New York Mellon Corp Trims Stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,429,910 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 34,775 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 1.10% of Provident Financial Services worth $26,982,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Provident Financial Services by 39.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 316,953 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $5,883,000 after buying an additional 90,238 shares during the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $508,000. Royce & Associates LP acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $766,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,947,394 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $54,715,000 after purchasing an additional 53,943 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,026,000. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Provident Financial Services news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,254 shares in the company, valued at $715,223.52. This trade represents a 9.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on PFS shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on 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. StockNews.com upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. DA Davidson raised their target price on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.00.

Provident Financial Services Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE PFS opened at $17.21 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.39 and a beta of 1.06. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.15. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.07 and a 12-month 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.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.37 earnings per share (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 analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

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