Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 98,898 Shares of Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB) by 31.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 220,173 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 98,898 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Prosperity Bancshares were worth $15,868,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 59.6% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 474 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Prosperity Bancshares by 533.3% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 494 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 3,147.1% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 552 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares during the second quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prosperity Bancshares during the second quarter worth $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Prosperity Bancshares Price Performance

Prosperity Bancshares stock opened at $82.50 on Friday. Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $57.16 and a one year high of $85.13. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $73.79 and its 200 day moving average is $68.31. The firm has a market cap of $7.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.89.

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.03. Prosperity Bancshares had a return on equity of 6.46% and a net margin of 25.39%. The firm had revenue of $459.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $299.83 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.20 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prosperity Bancshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.58 dividend. This is a positive change from Prosperity Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Prosperity Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on PB. Compass Point lifted their price target on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Prosperity Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James downgraded shares of Prosperity Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on Prosperity Bancshares from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Prosperity Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Prosperity Bancshares has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.96.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ned S. Holmes sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.96, for a total transaction of $41,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 114,315 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,597,887.40. This represents a 0.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.28% of the company’s stock.

Prosperity Bancshares Profile

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc operates as bank holding company for the Prosperity Bank that provides financial products and services to businesses and consumers. It accepts various deposit products, such as demand, savings, money market, and time accounts, as well as and certificates of deposit. The company also offers 1-4 family residential mortgage, commercial real estate and multifamily residential, commercial and industrial, agricultural, and non-real estate agricultural loans, as well as construction, land development, and other land loans; consumer loans, including automobile, recreational vehicle, boat, home improvement, personal, and deposit account collateralized loans; term loans and lines of credit; and consumer durables and home equity loans, as well as loans for working capital, business expansion, and purchase of equipment and machinery.