Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Holdings in Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB) by 31.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 220,173 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 98,898 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of Prosperity Bancshares worth $15,868,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 59.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 474 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 533.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 494 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 3,147.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 552 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prosperity Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Prosperity Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prosperity Bancshares Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE PB opened at $82.50 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.31. The company has a market cap of $7.86 billion, a PE ratio of 17.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.89. Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.16 and a 12-month high of $85.13.

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $459.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $299.83 million. Prosperity Bancshares had a return on equity of 6.46% and a net margin of 25.39%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.20 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prosperity Bancshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. This is an increase from Prosperity Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Prosperity Bancshares’s payout ratio is 47.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prosperity Bancshares

In related news, Director Ned S. Holmes sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.96, for a total value of $41,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 114,315 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,597,887.40. This represents a 0.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 4.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. DA Davidson cut Prosperity Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $80.00 to $78.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley raised Prosperity Bancshares from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $77.00 target price on shares of Prosperity Bancshares in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Prosperity Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Prosperity Bancshares from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Prosperity Bancshares has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.96.

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.