Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS Shares Sold by Northern Trust Corp

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its stake in Provident Financial Services by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, now owning 1.07% of the company valued at approximately $23.99 million.
• Analysts have a consensus target price of $22.70 for Provident Financial Services, with one "Strong Buy" and four "Buy" ratings issued by research analysts.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 4.8%, with a dividend payout ratio of 54.24%.

Northern Trust Corp decreased its position in Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,397,139 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after selling 37,496 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.07% of Provident Financial Services worth $23,989,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the first quarter valued at $17,412,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $17,447,000. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 1,105,103 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $20,853,000 after purchasing an additional 212,395 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC increased its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1,082.6% in the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 146,592 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $2,766,000 after acquiring an additional 134,196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 5.2% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,584,298 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $44,372,000 after acquiring an additional 127,897 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PFS. Hovde Group increased their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $22.50 to $23.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of 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. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have given a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Christopher P. Martin sold 55,668 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.07, for a total transaction of $950,252.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 601,050 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,259,923.50. The trade was a 8.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

Provident Financial Services Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:PFS traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $19.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 69,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 647,119. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 12-month low of $14.34 and a 12-month high of $22.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $18.79 and a 200-day moving average of $17.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.27 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $214.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $213.39 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 16.97% and a return on equity of 8.80%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.11) earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate 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, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.24%.

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.