Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) Stock Holdings Increased by Park Avenue Securities LLC

Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) by 29.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,900 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 667 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers were worth $363,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CFR. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 122,282.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,005,982 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $125,949,000 after buying an additional 1,005,160 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $69,591,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,223,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 33.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 973,576 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $130,703,000 after acquiring an additional 245,458 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $21,181,000. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers stock opened at $123.79 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $129.65. The firm has a market cap of $7.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 0.68. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.55 and a fifty-two week high of $147.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The bank reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $560.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $540.57 million. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 15.95%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.15 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. This is a boost from Cullen/Frost Bankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Matthew Bradley Henson bought 1,870 shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.93 per share, with a total value of $31,659.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $93,876.85. This trade represents a 50.88% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on CFR shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $147.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $105.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI upgraded Cullen/Frost Bankers from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $132.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Stephens increased their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cullen/Frost Bankers has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.93.

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.