Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) Shares Purchased by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,083 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,003 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers were worth $1,756,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CFR. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 45.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 245 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the third quarter worth $44,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 239.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 339 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 134.2% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 541 shares of the bank’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Price Performance

CFR stock opened at $122.55 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market capitalization of $7.87 billion, a PE ratio of 13.82, a P/E/G ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 0.97. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.09 and a 12-month high of $147.64. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $135.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $130.56.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.19. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 15.95% and a net margin of 20.44%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.84%.

Insider Activity at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In other Cullen/Frost Bankers news, insider Paul Bracher sold 11,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.45, for a total transaction of $1,603,675.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 102,946 shares in the company, valued at $14,355,819.70. This represents a 10.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 2.89% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on CFR. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $132.00 to $120.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $144.00 price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $136.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. DA Davidson lowered Cullen/Frost Bankers from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $138.00 to $143.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Compass Point upped their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $122.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.77.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Company Profile

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Frost Bank that provides commercial and consumer banking services in Texas. The company offers commercial banking services to corporations, including financing for industrial and commercial properties, interim construction related to industrial and commercial properties, equipment, inventories and accounts receivables, and acquisitions; and treasury management services, as well as originates commercial leasing services.