LPL Financial LLC Buys 18,751 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 75.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,570 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,751 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $822,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Savant Capital LLC increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 6.5% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 6.1% during the 4th 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. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 39,764 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $750,000 after purchasing an additional 828 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 12,084 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Midwest Professional Planners LTD. lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. now owns 15,443 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 1,142 shares during the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

NYSE PFS traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $16.52. The company had a trading volume of 1,087,675 shares, compared to its average volume of 842,178. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.07 and a twelve month high of $22.24. The company has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a PE ratio of 15.73 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $16.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.59.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $208.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $206.86 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 10.13% and a return on equity of 5.60%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Provident Financial Services's payout ratio is presently 86.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Provident Financial Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.00.

Provident Financial Services 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.