First Trust Advisors LP Raises Holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 57.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 244,098 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after acquiring an additional 88,839 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.19% of Provident Financial Services worth $5,165,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFS. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 10.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,359,098 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $122,603,000 after acquiring an additional 576,673 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 38.1% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,239,628 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $24,483,000 after purchasing an additional 342,301 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 251.3% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 413,107 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $7,242,000 after purchasing an additional 295,521 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,070,734 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $170,775,000 after purchasing an additional 256,540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 493.6% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 301,329 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $5,951,000 after purchasing an additional 250,566 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO George Lista sold 2,556 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.40, for a total transaction of $57,254.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 109,262 shares in the company, valued at $2,447,468.80. This trade represents a 2.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.02% of the company's stock.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 1.9%

NYSE PFS opened at $25.15 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a fifty-two week low of $17.69 and a fifty-two week high of $25.41. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $23.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.34. The stock has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 0.78.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.04. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 22.15% and a return on equity of 11.00%. The company had revenue of $234.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $225.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $29.00 price objective (up from $26.00) on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Friday. Hovde Group raised their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $26.50 to $28.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Monday, June 8th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson set a $26.00 price target on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $28.00 price target (up from $26.00) on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $26.79.

About Provident Financial Services

Provident Financial Services, Inc is the bank holding company for Provident Bank, a regional commercial bank headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. The company operates a network of full-service branches across New Jersey, the New York metropolitan area and eastern Pennsylvania, offering a range of personal and business banking solutions.

Its core products and services include checking and savings accounts, consumer and residential mortgage loans, commercial real estate financing and small-business lending.

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