Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Trims Stock Holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 69.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 80,558 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after selling 185,810 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.06% of Provident Financial Services worth $1,383,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PFS. Savant Capital LLC grew its position in Provident Financial Services by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 10,931 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 392,600 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $7,408,000 after buying an additional 1,158 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 35,936.4% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,928 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $151,000 after buying an additional 7,906 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 632,544 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $11,936,000 after acquiring an additional 17,749 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 13,422 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 772 shares during the period. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Provident Financial Services Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:PFS opened at $15.98 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 0.86. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $16.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.76. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 12-month low of $13.07 and a 12-month high of $22.24.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.03. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 11.45% and a return on equity of 6.38%. The firm had revenue of $208.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $206.86 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. Provident Financial Services's revenue for the quarter was up 82.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.01%. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.25.

Insider Activity at Provident Financial Services

In other news, Chairman Christopher P. Martin sold 55,668 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.07, for a total transaction of $950,252.76. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 601,050 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,259,923.50. The trade was a 8.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.10% of the stock is owned by 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.

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