Teacher Retirement System of Texas Makes New Investment in Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 18,123 shares of the savings and loans company's stock, valued at approximately $311,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $513,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at $6,994,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in Provident Financial Services by 29.6% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 39,301 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $742,000 after buying an additional 8,986 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Provident Financial Services by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 12,084 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 243,729 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $4,599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Provident Financial Services

In related news, Chairman Christopher P. Martin sold 55,668 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $10,259,923.50. This trade represents a 8.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Provident Financial Services Trading Down 0.2%

Provident Financial Services stock traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $18.37. 666,707 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 684,234. The firm has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a PE ratio of 16.55 and a beta of 0.86. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 12-month low of $14.34 and a 12-month high of $22.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.45. 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 (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $208.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $206.86 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 6.38% and a net margin of 11.45%. The business's revenue was up 82.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Provident Financial Services's payout ratio is 86.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PFS shares. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $21.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.60.

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.