Panagora Asset Management Inc. Has $1.79 Million Stock Holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 15.3% in the first quarter, bringing its ownership to approximately 0.08% and valued at $1.79 million.
• Provident Financial Services reported $0.55 earnings per share for the most recent quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.50, with revenues reaching $214.17 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 4.8% and a dividend payout ratio of 54.24%.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 15.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 104,077 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after selling 18,832 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.08% of Provident Financial Services worth $1,787,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 84.5% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,207,898 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $55,080,000 after acquiring an additional 1,469,432 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,584,298 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $44,372,000 after buying an additional 127,897 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,976,235 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $37,292,000 after buying an additional 87,612 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth approximately $17,412,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 939,304 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $17,725,000 after purchasing an additional 9,445 shares in the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Provident Financial Services

In other news, Chairman Christopher P. Martin sold 55,668 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chairman directly owned 601,050 shares in the company, valued at $10,259,923.50. This represents a 8.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

NYSE:PFS traded down $0.16 on Friday, hitting $19.97. The company had a trading volume of 343,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 514,552. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.28 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $18.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.49. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 52 week low of $14.34 and a 52 week high of $22.24.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $214.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.11) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is 54.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PFS. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Thursday, June 26th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $21.00 price target for the company. Finally, Hovde Group upped their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $22.50 to $23.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have given a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $22.70.

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.