Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 16,941 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 649,485 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,941 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.50% of Provident Financial Services worth $11,152,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.0% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 72,088 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $1,238,000 after purchasing an additional 699 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 14,240 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 13,172 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC raised its position in Provident Financial Services by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 191,748 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $3,618,000 after buying an additional 730 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in Provident Financial Services by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 39,764 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $750,000 after buying an additional 828 shares during the period. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 1.7%

PFS stock traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $18.65. The stock had a trading volume of 1,114,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 687,596. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 1-year low of $14.34 and a 1-year 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80 and a beta of 0.86.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.03. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 6.38% and a net margin of 11.45%. The company had revenue of $208.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $206.86 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. The business's revenue was up 82.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given 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 payout ratio is currently 86.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Provident Financial Services news, Chairman Christopher P. Martin sold 55,668 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chairman directly owned 601,050 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,259,923.50. This represents a 8.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $21.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $23.60.

Provident Financial Services Company 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.