Ameriprise Financial Inc. Sells 27,413 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. reduced its position in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 386,840 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after selling 27,413 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.30% of Provident Financial Services worth $7,300,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFS. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 39.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 316,953 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $5,883,000 after buying an additional 90,238 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 40.7% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,387 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,848 shares in the last quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 105.8% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,581 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $483,000 after buying an additional 13,151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 264,933 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $4,999,000 after buying an additional 13,188 shares during the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of Provident Financial Services stock traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $16.61. 25,667 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 746,796. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.25. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.07 and a 12-month high of $22.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.80 and a beta of 0.84. 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 (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.03. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.60% and a net margin of 10.13%. The business had revenue of $208.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $206.86 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 82.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 86.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFS has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Provident Financial Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.25.

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.