Pacer Advisors Inc. Takes $1.49 Million Position in Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. $PB

Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 22,427 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,488,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Amundi bought a new position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth $4,060,000. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Prosperity Bancshares by 68.9% during the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 554,502 shares of the bank’s stock worth $38,945,000 after purchasing an additional 226,232 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares in the second quarter valued at approximately $572,000. Praxis Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Prosperity Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at $298,000. Finally, Angel Oak Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Prosperity Bancshares by 39.0% during the second quarter. Angel Oak Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,900 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $976,000 after buying an additional 3,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Prosperity Bancshares Price Performance

PB opened at $69.14 on Thursday. Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $61.06 and a one year high of $82.75. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $68.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.70.

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.45. The firm had revenue of $314.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $317.94 million. Prosperity Bancshares had a return on equity of 7.06% and a net margin of 30.28%.The company’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Prosperity Bancshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This is a boost from Prosperity Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Prosperity Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 42.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PB shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $68.00 price target (down previously from $78.00) on shares of Prosperity Bancshares in a report on Monday, September 15th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Prosperity Bancshares from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Prosperity Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $78.00 price target on the stock. Stephens lifted their price objective on Prosperity Bancshares from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Prosperity Bancshares from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.62.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ned S. Holmes sold 600 shares of Prosperity Bancshares stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.66, for a total value of $39,396.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 43,700 shares in the company, valued at $2,869,342. This trade represents a 1.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Harrison Stafford II sold 800 shares of Prosperity Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.76, for a total value of $56,608.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 107,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,637,622.12. This represents a 0.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 15,050 shares of company stock worth $1,027,668. 4.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Prosperity Bancshares

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.