Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Has $1.13 Million Holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. trimmed its holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 40.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,000 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 40,000 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $1,132,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 120.6% in 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 period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $99,000. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 40.7% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,387 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 1,848 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 141.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 7,533 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 4,408 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 35,936.4% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,928 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $151,000 after acquiring an additional 7,906 shares during the period. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Hovde Group began coverage on Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.00.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

PFS opened at $17.07 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a PE ratio of 16.25 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.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.13). Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 10.13% and a return on equity of 5.60%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.63%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 91.43%.

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.