HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 4,458 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,806 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 4,458 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $1,147,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFS. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services during the third quarter worth about $508,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,990,000. Royce & Associates LP acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $766,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 37.8% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 222,849 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $3,198,000 after buying an additional 61,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the second quarter worth $2,613,000. Institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Hovde Group began coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research note on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One investment 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 target price of $23.50.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE PFS opened at $20.66 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $2.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.84 and a beta of 1.06. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.07 and a 52-week high of $22.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.90.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.11). Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 5.21%. The company had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $211.25 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.65%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.31%.

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

In other news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total value of $73,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $715,223.52. The trade was a 9.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 4.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.