First Trust Advisors LP Reduces Holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 19.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,313 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after selling 22,517 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.07% of Provident Financial Services worth $1,723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Savant Capital LLC grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 10,931 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in Provident Financial Services by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 14,240 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 13,172 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 714 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC raised its position in Provident Financial Services by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 191,748 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $3,618,000 after purchasing an additional 730 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 13,422 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 772 shares during the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Provident Financial Services Trading Down 0.4 %

PFS stock traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $17.13. The company had a trading volume of 754,451 shares, compared to its average volume of 840,752. The stock has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.31 and a beta of 0.84. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.07 and a 52 week high of $22.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $16.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.44.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.03. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 10.13% and a return on equity of 5.60%. The company had revenue of $208.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $206.86 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 82.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.60%. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 86.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PFS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.25.

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.