Cerity Partners LLC Grows Holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR - Free Report) by 31.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 61,160 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 14,512 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Cullen/Frost Bankers worth $7,657,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CFR. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 59.6% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 391 shares of the bank's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 35.3% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the bank's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 33.8% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 522 shares of the bank's stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the fourth quarter worth approximately $204,000. Institutional investors own 86.90% of the company's stock.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:CFR traded up $3.60 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $139.33. 275,641 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 449,082. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $129.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $128.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.64. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 1 year low of $100.31 and a 1 year high of $147.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.68.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The bank reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $540.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.15 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. This is a boost from Cullen/Frost Bankers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Cullen/Frost Bankers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Matthew Bradley Henson acquired 1,870 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $93,876.85. This trade represents a 50.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on CFR. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $147.00 to $140.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. 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 research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set an "underperform" rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. 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 for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.