57,895 Shares in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) Bought by Balyasny Asset Management L.P.

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 57,895 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $7,772,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned 0.09% of Cullen/Frost Bankers as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 234.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 436,393 shares of the bank's stock valued at $48,814,000 after buying an additional 305,921 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the third quarter worth $29,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 167.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,507 shares of the bank's stock worth $901,000 after acquiring an additional 4,704 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 806,209 shares of the bank's stock worth $90,185,000 after buying an additional 25,909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 822 shares of the bank's stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.90% of the company's stock.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:CFR traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $130.52. 332,060 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 466,076. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $118.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $131.11. The company has a market cap of $8.39 billion, a PE ratio of 14.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 0.67. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.09 and a 12 month high of $147.64.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.13. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 15.95%. The business had revenue of $560.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $540.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.15 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a boost from Cullen/Frost Bankers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Cullen/Frost Bankers's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays increased their price target on 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. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $147.00 to $140.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI raised shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from an "underperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $132.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson cut shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $138.00 to $143.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cullen/Frost Bankers has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $132.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Matthew Bradley Henson acquired 1,870 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $16.93 per share, for a total transaction of $31,659.10. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,545 shares in the company, valued at $93,876.85. This represents a 50.88% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.89% of the company's stock.

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.