Bank of New York Mellon Corp Trims Stock Holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its position in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 3.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,379,492 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after selling 50,418 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 1.06% of Provident Financial Services worth $23,686,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,605,199 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $275,600,000 after purchasing an additional 51,253 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,456,401 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $46,352,000 after purchasing an additional 81,617 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP raised its position in Provident Financial Services by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,976,235 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $37,292,000 after purchasing an additional 87,612 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,692,001 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $31,928,000 after purchasing an additional 109,923 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 1,105,103 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $20,853,000 after buying an additional 212,395 shares during the period. 71.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PFS. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $21.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $23.60.

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

In other news, Chairman Christopher P. Martin sold 55,668 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chairman owned 601,050 shares in the company, valued at $10,259,923.50. This represents a 8.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:PFS opened at $18.65 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a PE ratio of 16.80 and a beta of 0.86. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 52-week low of $14.34 and a 52-week high of $22.24. The company has a fifty day moving average of $17.36 and a 200-day moving average of $17.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $206.86 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 82.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict 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 was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 86.49%.

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.

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