American Century Companies Inc. Increases Stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 5.2% to 2,584,298 shares, valued at approximately $44.37 million.
• Provident Financial Services reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.55, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.50, indicating strong financial performance for the company.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, which yields 5.1% annually, with an ex-dividend date set for August 15.

American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,584,298 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after purchasing an additional 127,897 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 1.98% of Provident Financial Services worth $44,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 649,485 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $11,152,000 after purchasing an additional 16,941 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 447.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,505 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 101,830 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $1,922,000 after purchasing an additional 21,993 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 71,649 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $1,352,000 after purchasing an additional 2,728 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth $242,000. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of 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 decreased their target price on shares of 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 price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $22.50 to $23.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $22.70.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:PFS traded up $0.22 on Tuesday, reaching $19.92. The stock had a trading volume of 686,377 shares, compared to its average volume of 580,020. The company has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.25 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm's fifty day moving average is $18.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.43. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 12-month low of $14.34 and a 12-month high of $22.24.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $214.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $213.39 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 16.97% and a return on equity of 8.80%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.11) EPS. Equities analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is 54.24%.

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

In other Provident Financial Services news, Chairman Christopher P. Martin sold 55,668 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.07, for a total value of $950,252.76. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 601,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,259,923.50. This represents a 8.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

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.