Alliancebernstein L.P. Has $12.26 Million Holdings in Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB)

Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB) by 31.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 162,706 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 39,100 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.17% of Prosperity Bancshares worth $12,260,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PB. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Prosperity Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at about $68,986,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Prosperity Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,643,000. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 418.0% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 111,548 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,039,000 after buying an additional 90,015 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prosperity Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,463,000. Finally, Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 255,380 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $19,249,000 after buying an additional 62,746 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Prosperity Bancshares Stock Up 5.5 %

Shares of PB stock opened at $67.29 on Thursday. Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $57.16 and a 12 month high of $86.76. The firm has a market cap of $6.41 billion, a PE ratio of 13.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $73.33 and a 200-day moving average of $75.72.

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The bank reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.04. Prosperity Bancshares had a return on equity of 6.64% and a net margin of 26.79%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prosperity Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. Prosperity Bancshares’s payout ratio is 45.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PB has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut Prosperity Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Bank of America raised Prosperity Bancshares from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Prosperity Bancshares from $102.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Prosperity Bancshares from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Prosperity Bancshares from $77.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.35.

Insider Activity at Prosperity Bancshares

In related news, Director Ned S. Holmes sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.63, for a total value of $35,315.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 104,815 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,403,083.45. This represents a 0.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,000 shares of company stock worth $376,885. 4.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Prosperity Bancshares

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.