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

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR - Free Report) by 31.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 61,160 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 14,512 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned about 0.10% of Cullen/Frost Bankers worth $7,657,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,086 shares of the bank's stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank increased its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 12,536 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,683,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 35.3% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the bank's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 5,012 shares of the bank's stock worth $628,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 33.8% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 522 shares of the bank's stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In other Cullen/Frost Bankers news, CAO Matthew Bradley Henson purchased 1,870 shares of the 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 purchase, the chief accounting officer directly owned 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Performance

Shares of CFR stock traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $138.71. 328,792 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 443,909. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $129.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $128.87. 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 52-week low of $100.31 and a 52-week high of $147.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.68.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The bank reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $560.42 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $540.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.15 EPS. Research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a positive change from Cullen/Frost Bankers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. Cullen/Frost Bankers's payout ratio is 43.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CFR. Barclays raised their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $105.00 target price for the company. Stephens lifted their target price on 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. Evercore ISI raised Cullen/Frost Bankers from an "underperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $132.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $147.00 to $140.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $134.79.

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.