Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 820 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 120.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,500 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after acquiring an additional 820 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $28,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 4,245.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,996,954 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $56,877,000 after buying an additional 3,904,975 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 51.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,787,088 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $111,740,000 after acquiring an additional 2,649,643 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 13,182.2% in 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 during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 125.3% in the second quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,690,155 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $24,254,000 after acquiring an additional 939,951 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,683,467 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $142,605,000 after purchasing an additional 713,688 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson raised their price target on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.50.

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

In other Provident Financial Services 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 34,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $715,223.52. This represents a 9.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of Provident Financial Services stock opened at $20.36 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.58 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a fifty day moving average of $20.10 and a 200-day moving average of $17.90. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.07 and a 52-week high of $22.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $211.25 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.21% and a net margin of 9.55%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.72%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.31%.

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.