AQR Capital Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

AQR Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR - Free Report) by 32.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 151,176 shares of the bank's stock after selling 71,754 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.24% of Cullen/Frost Bankers worth $20,295,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CFR. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 45.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 245 shares of the bank's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in the third quarter worth $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 239.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 339 shares of the bank's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 35.3% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the bank's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the 4th quarter worth $106,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In other news, CAO Matthew Bradley Henson purchased 1,870 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $16.93 per share, for a total transaction of $31,659.10. Following the purchase, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,545 shares in the company, valued at $93,876.85. This trade represents a 50.88 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.89% of the company's stock.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:CFR traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $122.51. The stock had a trading volume of 252,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 463,996. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a one year low of $94.09 and a one year high of $147.64. The company has a market capitalization of $7.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.81, a PEG ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $119.03 and a 200 day moving average of $130.99. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The bank reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $560.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the company posted $2.15 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This is a positive change from Cullen/Frost Bankers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Cullen/Frost Bankers's payout ratio is currently 41.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on CFR shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $132.00 to $120.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $147.00 to $140.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson lowered Cullen/Frost Bankers from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the company from $138.00 to $143.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $132.14.

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.