Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 93.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 116,243 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 1,769,654 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned 0.15% of Provident Financial Services worth $1,694,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its position in Provident Financial Services by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 66,113 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $963,000 after acquiring an additional 885 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 7.4% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 14,856 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 3.9% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 43,930 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $640,000 after purchasing an additional 1,637 shares during the period. TFO Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 17,508.3% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 2,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WBI Investments LLC increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. WBI Investments LLC now owns 22,696 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $409,000 after buying an additional 3,155 shares during the period. 71.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on PFS shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. DA Davidson upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $15.00 to $20.00 in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.75.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of Provident Financial Services stock traded up $0.45 on Friday, reaching $19.01. The stock had a trading volume of 1,089,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,093,331. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $13.07 and a 1 year high of $19.62. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $14.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.88 and a beta of 1.03.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.05%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.00%.

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.