Midwest Professional Planners LTD. Purchases 1,142 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Midwest Professional Planners LTD. boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,443 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,142 shares during the period. Midwest Professional Planners LTD.’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $291,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Savant Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 10,931 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 13,422 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 772 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 16,672 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 39,764 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $750,000 after acquiring an additional 828 shares during the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 2.9 %

PFS opened at $17.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.32 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.08. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.07 and a fifty-two week high of $22.24.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.13). Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.60% and a net margin of 10.13%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.60%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 91.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.00.

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.