Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS Stock Holdings Boosted by Wellington Management Group LLP

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP has significantly increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 84.5%, now holding approximately 2.46% of the company valued at around $55 million.
• Provident Financial Services reported $0.55 EPS for its latest quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share with a yield of 4.9%.
• The company's stock experienced a 5.1% increase, and it holds a market cap of $2.58 billion with analysts rating it as an overall "Buy."

Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 84.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,207,898 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after buying an additional 1,469,432 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 2.46% of Provident Financial Services worth $55,080,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 1.3% in the first quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC now owns 49,643 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $852,000 after buying an additional 645 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 1.0% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 72,088 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $1,238,000 after buying an additional 699 shares during the last quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.8% during the first quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 50,025 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $859,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 447.3% during the first 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 last quarter. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd now owns 14,816 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 1,609 shares during the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

PFS stock traded down $0.05 on Friday, reaching $19.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 514,426 shares, compared to its average volume of 577,026. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 52 week low of $14.34 and a 52 week high of $22.24. The company has a market capitalization of $2.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.22 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $18.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 8.80% and a net margin of 16.97%.The business had revenue of $214.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $213.39 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.11) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is 54.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on PFS. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Provident Financial Services in a report on Thursday, June 26th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $21.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson upped their target price on 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 target price on Provident Financial Services from $22.50 to $23.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Provident Financial Services has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.70.

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

In other Provident Financial Services news, Chairman Christopher P. Martin sold 55,668 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was 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 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

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.