Boston Trust Walden Corp Reduces Position in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. $CFR

Key Points

• Boston Trust Walden trimmed its stake in Cullen/Frost by 4.4% in Q4, selling 48,183 shares and ending the period with 1,043,754 shares worth about $132.17 million, roughly 1.0% of its portfolio and the firm's 13th largest holding.
• Cullen/Frost beat Q4 expectations with $2.56 EPS vs. $2.47 est. and $1.05 billion in revenue, has a $9.0 billion market cap and a PE of 14.4, and pays a $1.00 quarterly dividend (≈2.8% yield).
• The stock carries a consensus "Hold" rating with a $142.25 target, institutional ownership is high at 86.9% while insider ownership is about 1.14%.

Boston Trust Walden Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR - Free Report) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,043,754 shares of the bank's stock after selling 48,183 shares during the period. Cullen/Frost Bankers accounts for approximately 1.0% of Boston Trust Walden Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned about 1.63% of Cullen/Frost Bankers worth $132,171,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CFR. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 252.1% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 257 shares of the bank's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Community Bank N.A. acquired a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $136.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $141.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $142.25.

Insider Transactions at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In other Cullen/Frost Bankers news, EVP Bobby Berman sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.07, for a total transaction of $137,070.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 28,406 shares in the company, valued at $3,893,610.42. This represents a 3.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Down 1.0%

Cullen/Frost Bankers stock opened at $142.95 on Wednesday. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $111.21 and a fifty-two week high of $148.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $139.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $132.84. The company has a market capitalization of $9.00 billion, a PE ratio of 14.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.61.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The bank reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $578.05 million. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a net margin of 22.21% and a return on equity of 15.49%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.36 EPS. Research analysts expect that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 10.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Cullen/Frost Bankers's dividend payout ratio is 40.32%.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Profile

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc is the holding company for Frost Bank, a Texas-chartered financial institution whose origins date back to 1868 in San Antonio. As one of the oldest banking organizations in the state, it offers a broad range of services to individuals, small and large businesses, and institutional clients. Core banking activities include commercial lending, deposit services, cash management and trade finance, while consumer products cover residential mortgages, personal lines of credit and home equity loans.

Beyond traditional banking, the company provides comprehensive treasury and equipment leasing solutions tailored to support working capital and capital expenditure requirements.

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