Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Takes $1.44 Million Position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 100,000 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,435,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. owned approximately 0.08% of Provident Financial Services at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PFS. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 991.2% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,685 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 17,508.3% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 2,101 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 43.0% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,050 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 1st quarter valued at $76,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of PFS opened at $18.53 on Tuesday. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.07 and a 52-week high of $19.59. The company has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a PE ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The savings and loans company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.39). Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 4.95% and a net margin of 9.38%. The company had revenue of $141.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $148.60 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 42.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.18%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is 60.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PFS. StockNews.com lowered Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total transaction of $99,476.91. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,603,787.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

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.