Rhumbline Advisers Sells 17,404 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

Key Points

• Rhumbline Advisers has reduced its holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc. by 4.4%, now owning 375,196 shares valued at approximately $6.44 million.
• Wellington Management Group LLP significantly increased its stake in the company by 84.5% during the same quarter, now holding over 3.2 million shares worth approximately $55 million.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, yielding 4.8% annually, with a payout ratio of 54.24%.

Rhumbline Advisers lessened its position in Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 4.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 375,196 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after selling 17,404 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.29% of Provident Financial Services worth $6,442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PFS. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 65.5% during the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 89,929 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $1,697,000 after purchasing an additional 35,579 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 101,830 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $1,922,000 after acquiring an additional 21,993 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 71,649 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $1,352,000 after purchasing an additional 2,728 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 939,304 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $17,725,000 after acquiring an additional 9,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc bought a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $296,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John Pugliese sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.91, for a total transaction of $497,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 87,907 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,750,228.37. This represents a 22.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.90, for a total transaction of $59,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,633 shares of the company's stock, valued at $788,696.70. The trade was a 7.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of PFS stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $19.59. 681,182 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 643,165. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 12 month low of $14.34 and a 12 month high of $22.24. The company has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.07 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. The company's 50-day moving average price is $19.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.58.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last released 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 company had revenue of $214.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $213.39 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 8.80% and a net margin of 16.97%.During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.11) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is 54.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PFS shares. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $21.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. 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 assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.70.

About Provident Financial Services

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.