State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Has $1.94 Million Holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 104,564 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 28,811 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $1,941,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PFS. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 73.2% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 36,674 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $534,000 after buying an additional 15,498 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 7.4% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 14,856 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 269.0% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 77,382 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,127,000 after acquiring an additional 56,410 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 10.9% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 80,745 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,175,000 after acquiring an additional 7,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services during the first quarter worth $76,000. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total value of $99,476.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,603,787.04. This represents a 5.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 4.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE:PFS opened at $21.40 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $19.06 and a 200-day moving average of $17.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.58 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.07 and a twelve month high of $22.23.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $211.25 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 92.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. DA Davidson raised their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

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.