Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 2,685,628 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP cut its Provident Financial Services stake by 46.4%, selling 2,685,628 shares and retaining 3.10 million shares worth approximately $73.3 million, or 2.38% of the company.
• Analysts remain generally positive, with the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $26.79; several firms recently raised their targets to between $27 and $29.
• Provident reported quarterly earnings of $0.60 per share, beating estimates of $0.56, and maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, equivalent to a 4.1% annualized yield.

Wellington Management Group LLP lessened its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 46.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,101,027 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after selling 2,685,628 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 2.38% of Provident Financial Services worth $73,308,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 23.9% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 44,106 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $758,000 after buying an additional 8,507 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 74,926 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $1,286,000 after acquiring an additional 3,277 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 6.3% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 256,739 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $4,408,000 after acquiring an additional 15,112 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 247.5% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 312,478 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $5,365,000 after acquiring an additional 222,549 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 45.6% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 73,261 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $1,258,000 after purchasing an additional 22,961 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $29.00 target price (up from $26.00) on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Hovde Group increased their target price on Provident Financial Services from $26.50 to $28.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Stephens began coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Provident Financial Services presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $26.79.

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

In other news, Director Thomas Shara sold 40,266 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.06, for a total transaction of $928,533.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 382,911 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,829,927.66. The trade was a 9.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Vito Giannola sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.36, for a total transaction of $487,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 56,424 shares in the company, valued at $1,374,488.64. This represents a 26.17% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 76,166 shares of company stock worth $1,786,204. Insiders own 3.02% of the company's stock.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of PFS opened at $23.39 on Thursday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $23.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 12 month low of $17.69 and a 12 month high of $25.49. The company has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.75 and a beta of 0.78.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.04. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 11.00% and a net margin of 22.15%.The firm had revenue of $234.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $225.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Provident Financial Services Company Profile

Provident Financial Services, Inc is the bank holding company for Provident Bank, a regional commercial bank headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. The company operates a network of full-service branches across New Jersey, the New York metropolitan area and eastern Pennsylvania, offering a range of personal and business banking solutions.

Its core products and services include checking and savings accounts, consumer and residential mortgage loans, commercial real estate financing and small-business lending.

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