Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Sells 9,000 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. lowered its position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 172,996 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 9,000 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $3,264,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PFS. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 5.1% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 16,672 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $309,000 after buying an additional 802 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew 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 worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 29,402 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $546,000 after purchasing an additional 944 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 20,616 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 23,042 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $428,000 after purchasing an additional 1,954 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on PFS shares. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Hovde Group initiated coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total value of $73,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $715,223.52. This represents a 9.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of PFS opened at $19.00 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $19.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. 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 cap of $2.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.26 and a beta of 1.08.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.11). Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.21% and a net margin of 9.55%. The business had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.05%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.31%.

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.