Bank of America Corp DE Decreases Stock Holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Bank of America Corp DE trimmed its position in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 465,446 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after selling 45,813 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.36% of Provident Financial Services worth $8,783,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 805.9% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,968 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 3,530 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $99,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 40.7% in the fourth 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. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PFS traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $16.78. 383,423 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 742,605. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98 and a beta of 0.84. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $16.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.20. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.07 and a 52 week high of $22.24.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $208.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $206.86 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.60% and a net margin of 10.13%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 82.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.72%. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Provident Financial Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $24.25.

Provident Financial Services 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.