Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC Has $546,000 Position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC cut its position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 19.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,934 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 6,791 shares during the quarter. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $546,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,683,467 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $142,605,000 after purchasing an additional 713,688 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,947,394 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $54,715,000 after purchasing an additional 53,943 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,888,623 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $35,053,000 after purchasing an additional 198,468 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 13,182.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,854,596 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $34,421,000 after purchasing an additional 1,840,633 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,792,792 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $33,274,000 after purchasing an additional 102,737 shares in the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. 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 report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total transaction of $73,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $715,223.52. This represents a 9.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE:PFS opened at $18.62 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $19.16 and its 200-day moving average is $19.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.07 and a 52 week high of $22.24. The firm has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.74 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 91.43%.

About Provident Financial Services

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.