American Century Companies Inc. Buys 81,617 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,456,401 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after acquiring an additional 81,617 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 1.88% of Provident Financial Services worth $46,352,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Savant Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 10,931 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 13,422 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 772 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew 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 buying an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 120.6% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,500 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 39,764 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $750,000 after buying an additional 828 shares during the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on PFS shares. 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 price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Hovde Group initiated coverage on Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.00.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of PFS opened at $17.40 on Friday. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.07 and a fifty-two week high of $22.24. 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 company’s fifty day moving average is $18.13 and its 200 day moving average is $18.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a PE ratio of 16.57 and a beta of 1.06.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its 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%. 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.52%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.