Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS Shares Acquired by Algert Global LLC

Key Points

• Algert Global LLC increased its position in Provident Financial Services, Inc by 44.1%, acquiring a total of 211,212 shares worth approximately $3.63 million.
• Institutional investors now own 71.97% of Provident Financial Services, with several funds significantly increasing their stakes during the first quarter.
• The company reported an EPS of $0.55 for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share with a yield of 5.1%.

Algert Global LLC raised its position in Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 44.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 211,212 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after purchasing an additional 64,620 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC owned about 0.16% of Provident Financial Services worth $3,627,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 2.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 649,485 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $11,152,000 after acquiring an additional 16,941 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 447.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,505 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 27.5% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 101,830 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $1,922,000 after acquiring an additional 21,993 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 71,649 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $1,352,000 after acquiring an additional 2,728 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services during the first quarter worth about $242,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $21.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Hovde Group increased their target price on Provident Financial Services from $22.50 to $23.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on Provident Financial Services from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $22.70.

Provident Financial Services Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Provident Financial Services stock traded down $0.0450 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $19.7150. The stock had a trading volume of 497,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 591,396. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.14 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 1 year low of $14.34 and a 1 year high of $22.24. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.41.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.05. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 8.80% and a net margin of 16.97%.The business had revenue of $214.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $213.39 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.11) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Provident Financial Services news, Chairman Christopher P. Martin sold 55,668 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.07, for a total transaction of $950,252.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 601,050 shares in the company, valued at $10,259,923.50. This trade represents a 8.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.