Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) by 36.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,644,753 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 939,545 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $28,833,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PFS. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 633.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,040 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,762 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in Provident Financial Services by 30.0% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,893 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services during the second quarter worth $51,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services during the first quarter worth $156,000. 71.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John Pugliese sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.91, for a total value of $497,750.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 87,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,750,228.37. This trade represents a 22.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO George Lista sold 8,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.35, for a total transaction of $151,607.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 108,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,993,837.60. The trade was a 7.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 36,262 shares of company stock worth $709,058 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Trading Down 0.4%

PFS opened at $19.18 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $18.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 12 month low of $14.34 and a 12 month high of $21.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.79 and a beta of 0.95.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 17th. The savings and loans company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $114.54 million for the quarter. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 18.76%. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 48.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Research cut Provident Financial Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, DA Davidson downgraded Provident Financial Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.70.

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.