UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Sells 25,582 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 11.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 197,778 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 25,582 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.15% of Provident Financial Services worth $3,671,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 2,649,643 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in Provident Financial Services by 4,245.5% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,996,954 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $56,877,000 after purchasing an additional 3,904,975 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Provident Financial Services by 9.7% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,550,462 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $36,599,000 after purchasing an additional 225,839 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Provident Financial Services by 6.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,792,792 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $33,274,000 after purchasing an additional 102,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP raised its stake in Provident Financial Services by 125.3% in the second quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,690,155 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $24,254,000 after purchasing an additional 939,951 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Trading Down 1.2 %

Provident Financial Services stock opened at $20.31 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.81. The company has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.53 and a beta of 1.06. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.07 and a 52-week high of $22.24. 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 (NYSE:PFS) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 5.21% and a net margin of 9.55%. The business had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.73%. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 92.31%.

Insider Activity at Provident Financial Services

In other news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total transaction of $73,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 34,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $715,223.52. This represents a 9.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 4.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on PFS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. DA Davidson lifted 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 note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

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.