Blue Trust Inc. Boosts Holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) by 239.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 339 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers were worth $46,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CFR. Boston Trust Walden Corp purchased a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $107,166,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in the third quarter worth $54,012,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 117.4% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 568,730 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $63,618,000 after acquiring an additional 307,129 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 234.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 436,393 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $48,814,000 after acquiring an additional 305,921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,414,061 shares of the bank’s stock worth $381,897,000 after acquiring an additional 244,445 shares in the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Price Performance

NYSE CFR opened at $140.68 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 1 year low of $94.09 and a 1 year high of $147.64. The company has a market cap of $9.02 billion, a PE ratio of 15.86, a PEG ratio of 6.52 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $137.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $125.83.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.19. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a net margin of 18.81% and a return on equity of 16.04%. On average, analysts predict that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.84%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Phillip D. Green sold 14,358 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.96, for a total transaction of $1,980,829.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 94,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,026,597.08. The trade was a 13.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Paul Bracher sold 11,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 102,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,355,819.70. The trade was a 10.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CFR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Compass Point boosted their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $122.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Maxim Group boosted their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $138.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup raised their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. DA Davidson cut shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $138.00 to $143.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cullen/Frost Bankers has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $130.31.

About Cullen/Frost Bankers

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.