ELCO Management Co. LLC Sells 16,466 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS)

ELCO Management Co. LLC decreased its holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 29.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,048 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after selling 16,466 shares during the period. ELCO Management Co. LLC's holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $670,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 447.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,505 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $55,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 193.8% in the first 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 last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 805.9% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Christopher P. Martin sold 55,668 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chairman directly owned 601,050 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,259,923.50. This represents a 8.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

PFS stock traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $18.33. 682,215 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 687,182. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a twelve month low of $14.34 and a twelve month high of $22.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.51 and a beta of 0.86.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last announced 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 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 the consensus estimate of $206.86 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 82.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.24%. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. 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 report on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Provident Financial Services in a report on Thursday, June 26th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $21.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Provident Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average 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.