Legal & General Group Plc Cuts Stock Position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Legal & General Group Plc cut its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 355,233 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 15,033 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $6,703,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFS. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,605,199 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $275,600,000 after purchasing an additional 51,253 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,947,394 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $54,715,000 after acquiring an additional 53,943 shares in the last quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1,787.0% in the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,533,618 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $47,809,000 after acquiring an additional 2,399,351 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,456,401 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $46,352,000 after purchasing an additional 81,617 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Provident Financial Services by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,825,993 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $34,456,000 after purchasing an additional 33,201 shares during the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:PFS opened at $15.48 on Friday. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.07 and a 52-week high of $22.24. The stock has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.74 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a fifty day moving average of $16.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 5.60% and a net margin of 10.13%. On average, research analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company 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 6.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 91.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFS has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.00.

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.