New England Research & Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. $PB

New England Research & Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB) by 316.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,400 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,425 shares during the period. New England Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in Prosperity Bancshares were worth $823,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,236,977 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $370,768,000 after purchasing an additional 160,740 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Prosperity Bancshares by 14.6% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,232,995 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $230,739,000 after buying an additional 412,283 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Prosperity Bancshares by 175.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,383,162 shares of the bank’s stock worth $167,393,000 after buying an additional 1,516,939 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Prosperity Bancshares by 0.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,788,114 shares of the bank’s stock worth $125,615,000 after acquiring an additional 11,606 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Prosperity Bancshares by 4,674.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,426,917 shares of the bank’s stock worth $100,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,397,033 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Prosperity Bancshares in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective (down previously from $78.00) on shares of Prosperity Bancshares in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Barclays decreased their target price on Prosperity Bancshares from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Prosperity Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Hovde Group downgraded Prosperity Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.21.

Prosperity Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of PB opened at $72.01 on Tuesday. Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.06 and a 52-week high of $82.75. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.70.

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45. Prosperity Bancshares had a return on equity of 7.06% and a net margin of 30.28%.The business had revenue of $314.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $317.94 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.83 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 Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. This is a boost from Prosperity Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. Prosperity Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prosperity Bancshares

In related news, Director Harrison Stafford II sold 800 shares of Prosperity Bancshares stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.76, for a total transaction of $56,608.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 107,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,637,622.12. This trade represents a 0.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ned S. Holmes sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.80, for a total value of $39,480.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 44,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,895,200. The trade was a 1.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 16,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,087,883 in the last three months. Company insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Prosperity Bancshares Company 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.