First Trust Advisors LP Lowers Stock Holdings in Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. $PB

First Trust Advisors LP lowered its stake in Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB) by 16.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 755,564 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 144,683 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Prosperity Bancshares were worth $50,759,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Prosperity Bancshares during the third quarter worth $40,000. SouthState Bank Corp acquired a new position in Prosperity Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Prosperity Bancshares by 34.9% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 719 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in Prosperity Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Group One Trading LLC purchased a new position in Prosperity Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Prosperity Bancshares Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE PB opened at $73.11 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $61.06 and a 52 week high of $77.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $71.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.63.

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The bank reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. Prosperity Bancshares had a net margin of 29.50% and a return on equity of 7.20%. The company had revenue of $367.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $358.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.37 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. will post 6.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prosperity Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Prosperity Bancshares’s payout ratio is 43.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on PB shares. Benchmark began coverage on shares of Prosperity Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Prosperity Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Prosperity Bancshares in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.36.

Insider Activity at Prosperity Bancshares

In related news, Director Ned S. Holmes sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.61, for a total value of $42,366.00. Following the sale, the director owned 39,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,810,278. This represents a 1.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,100 shares of company stock worth $849,312. 3.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Prosperity Bancshares Profile

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc is a holding company for Prosperity Bank, offering a broad range of commercial and consumer banking services across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. Through its network of branches and digital platforms, the company provides deposit products, business and real estate lending, treasury management, mortgage origination and servicing, as well as wealth management and trust services.

Originally chartered in 1911 as First National Bank in McKinney, Texas, the organization rebranded to Prosperity Bank in 2009 following a series of strategic acquisitions aimed at deepening its regional presence.