Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stake in Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB) by 0.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 219,056 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 855 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.23% of Prosperity Bancshares worth $15,634,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Prosperity Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at about $68,986,000. North Reef Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Prosperity Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,211,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Prosperity Bancshares by 25.1% during the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,112,574 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $79,404,000 after purchasing an additional 223,355 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Prosperity Bancshares by 25.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 937,108 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $70,611,000 after purchasing an additional 190,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Prosperity Bancshares by 462.3% during the fourth quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 169,778 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,793,000 after purchasing an additional 139,585 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prosperity Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PB opened at $73.84 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.06, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.68. Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.57 and a 52-week high of $86.76. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.38.

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $306.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $307.17 million. Prosperity Bancshares had a return on equity of 6.81% and a net margin of 27.69%. Prosperity Bancshares’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prosperity Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Prosperity Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.19%.

Insider Activity at Prosperity Bancshares

In other Prosperity Bancshares news, Director Ned S. Holmes sold 500 shares of Prosperity Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.13, for a total transaction of $37,065.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 97,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,258,438.95. The trade was a 0.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,200 shares of company stock valued at $716,512. Corporate insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PB. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Prosperity Bancshares from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Prosperity Bancshares from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Prosperity Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays cut their price objective on Prosperity Bancshares from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Prosperity Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.80.

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.