Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) Shares Sold by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR - Free Report) by 55.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,883 shares of the bank's stock after selling 23,232 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers were worth $2,365,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CFR. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 4th quarter worth approximately $265,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 611,722 shares of the bank's stock worth $82,124,000 after buying an additional 14,422 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 13,088 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,757,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in the 4th quarter worth about $1,013,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 12,019 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,614,000 after purchasing an additional 2,824 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on CFR shares. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Cullen/Frost Bankers in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set an "underperform" rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI raised shares of 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 note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays upped their price objective 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $132.08.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Performance

CFR traded up $1.15 on Wednesday, reaching $133.66. The stock had a trading volume of 200,238 shares, compared to its average volume of 457,725. The company has a market cap of $8.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.68. The business's 50-day moving average price is $125.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $128.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.94 and a 12-month high of $147.64.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.13. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 15.70% and a net margin of 20.89%. The company had revenue of $560.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $540.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.15 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. This is a boost from Cullen/Frost Bankers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Cullen/Frost Bankers's payout ratio is currently 43.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Matthew Bradley Henson acquired 1,870 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $16.93 per share, with a total value of $31,659.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief accounting officer owned 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

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.