Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Shares Sold by Truist Financial Corp

Truist Financial Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 99,826 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 12,213 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $1,884,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 10.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,683,467 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $142,605,000 after buying an additional 713,688 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,947,394 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $54,715,000 after buying an additional 53,943 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 11.7% during the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,888,623 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $35,053,000 after buying an additional 198,468 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 13,182.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,854,596 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $34,421,000 after buying an additional 1,840,633 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 6.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,792,792 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $33,274,000 after buying an additional 102,737 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of PFS opened at $17.94 on Thursday. 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 12-month low of $13.07 and a 12-month high of $22.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $18.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.09 and a beta of 1.07.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.37 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFS has been the subject of a number of research reports. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 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 for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Provident Financial Services news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total transaction of $73,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 34,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $715,223.52. This trade represents a 9.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 4.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.