Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 50,418 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 3.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm 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 about 1.06% of Provident Financial Services worth $23,686,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 1,230 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Provident Financial Services by 193.8% during the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 2,938 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 1,938 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Provident Financial Services by 805.9% during the 4th 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Provident Financial Services

In other news, Chairman Christopher P. Martin sold 55,668 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.07, for a total value of $950,252.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 601,050 shares in the company, valued at $10,259,923.50. This trade represents a 8.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Provident Financial Services Stock Down 1.1%

PFS stock traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $18.42. 517,487 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 684,828. The firm's 50-day moving average is $17.39 and its 200-day moving average is $17.46. The company has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.60 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. 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, April 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 6.38% and a net margin of 11.45%. The company's revenue was up 82.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Provident Financial Services's payout ratio is 86.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on PFS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $21.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $23.60.

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.