Alps Advisors Inc. Invests $362,000 in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

Alps Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,890 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $362,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CFR. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 13,083 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,756,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 2.9% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 7,524 shares of the bank's stock worth $942,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 59.6% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 391 shares of the bank's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,375,303 shares of the bank's stock worth $855,884,000 after purchasing an additional 66,243 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 42.6% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 4,090 shares of the bank's stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 1,222 shares in the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In other news, CAO Matthew Bradley Henson purchased 1,870 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,545 shares in the company, valued at $93,876.85. This represents a 50.88% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.89% of the company's stock.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Up 2.6%

Cullen/Frost Bankers stock traded up $3.54 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $139.27. 275,641 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 449,082. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.64. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 12 month low of $100.31 and a 12 month high of $147.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $129.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $128.82. The company has a market cap of $8.95 billion, a PE ratio of 15.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.68.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The bank reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.13. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 15.70%. The company had revenue of $560.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $540.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.15 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. This is a positive change from Cullen/Frost Bankers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. Cullen/Frost Bankers's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased 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 research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from an "underperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $132.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cullen/Frost Bankers has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $134.79.

Cullen/Frost Bankers 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.