HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 4,748 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 57,058 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 4,748 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $1,077,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PFS. PL Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 1,787.0% during the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,533,618 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $47,809,000 after buying an additional 2,399,351 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 13,182.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,854,596 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $34,421,000 after purchasing an additional 1,840,633 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,683,467 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $142,605,000 after purchasing an additional 713,688 shares during the period. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. grew its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 87.3% during the third quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 892,708 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $16,569,000 after purchasing an additional 416,020 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth about $6,994,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Trading Down 0.6 %

PFS stock opened at $17.34 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.07 and a 1-year high of $22.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.99. The company has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.51 and a beta of 1.06.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.13). Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 10.13% and a return on equity of 5.60%. Research analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.54%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 91.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.00.

Provident Financial Services Company 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.