Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Shares Purchased by Deutsche Bank AG

Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 27.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 101,830 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after buying an additional 21,993 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned about 0.08% of Provident Financial Services worth $1,922,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 0.4% during 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 buying an additional 51,253 shares during the period. PL Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1,787.0% during the 4th quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,533,618 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $47,809,000 after acquiring an additional 2,399,351 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $46,352,000 after acquiring an additional 81,617 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Provident Financial Services by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,825,993 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $34,456,000 after acquiring an additional 33,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 109,923 shares during the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped 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 research note on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target 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. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $24.25.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

PFS traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $16.78. 383,423 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 742,605. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $16.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98 and a beta of 0.84. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.07 and a 1-year high of $22.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.03. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 10.13% and a return on equity of 5.60%. The company had revenue of $208.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $206.86 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 82.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders 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 payout ratio is currently 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.