Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 116,130 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Wellington Management Group LLP cut its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,738,466 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after selling 116,130 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 1.33% of Provident Financial Services worth $32,805,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 120.6% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,500 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $99,000. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 40.7% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,387 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $121,000 after acquiring an additional 1,848 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 141.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 7,533 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 4,408 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Provident Financial Services by 35,936.4% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,928 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $151,000 after acquiring an additional 7,906 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on PFS. Hovde Group assumed coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Provident Financial Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Provident Financial Services currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.00.

Provident Financial Services Trading Down 1.1 %

PFS traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $14.68. The stock had a trading volume of 875,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 849,038. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.98 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $17.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.75.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.13). Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 10.13% and a return on equity of 5.60%. On average, equities analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is 91.43%.

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.