Rafferty Asset Management LLC Lowers Stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR - Free Report) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 91,870 shares of the bank's stock after selling 8,164 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned about 0.14% of Cullen/Frost Bankers worth $12,334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CFR. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 234.5% in 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 period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 167.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,507 shares of the bank's stock valued at $901,000 after purchasing an additional 4,704 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,054 shares of the bank's stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the fourth quarter worth about $300,000. Finally, Everpar Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 2,702 shares of the bank's stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Matthew Bradley Henson acquired 1,870 shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $16.93 per share, for a total transaction of $31,659.10. Following the acquisition, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $93,876.85. This represents a 50.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CFR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI upgraded Cullen/Frost Bankers from an "underperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $132.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. DA Davidson lowered Cullen/Frost Bankers from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $138.00 to $143.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Stephens raised their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $131.93.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of CFR traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $127.13. The stock had a trading volume of 68,197 shares, compared to its average volume of 464,378. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.09 and a 52-week high of $147.64. The firm has a market cap of $8.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.33, a P/E/G ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 0.67. The business's fifty day moving average is $119.53 and its 200 day moving average is $131.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The bank reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $560.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $540.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.15 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. 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 yield of 3.15%. Cullen/Frost Bankers's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.91%.

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.