BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 14,531 Shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lowered its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR - Free Report) by 61.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,297 shares of the bank's stock after selling 14,531 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers were worth $1,248,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 13,083 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,756,000 after buying an additional 1,003 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its position 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 during the period. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the fourth quarter valued at $389,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position 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 buying an additional 4,704 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the fourth quarter valued at $300,000. Institutional investors own 86.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CFR shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $132.00 to $120.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Barclays upped their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI upgraded Cullen/Frost Bankers from an "underperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $132.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cullen/Frost Bankers currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $131.93.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Price Performance

Shares of CFR traded down $0.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $126.60. The company had a trading volume of 275,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 465,487. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.09 and a twelve month high of $147.64. 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 company's 50-day moving average is $119.67 and its 200-day moving average is $131.01. The company has a market capitalization of $8.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.27, a P/E/G ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 0.67.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.13. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 15.95% and a net margin of 20.44%. The business 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 firm posted $2.15 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. This is a boost from Cullen/Frost Bankers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Cullen/Frost Bankers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.91%.

Insider Activity at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In other Cullen/Frost Bankers news, CAO Matthew Bradley Henson purchased 1,870 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.93 per share, with a total value of $31,659.10. Following the acquisition, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,545 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $93,876.85. This trade represents a 50.88% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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.