Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. $CFR Shares Purchased by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 85.7% in the fourth quarter, buying 31,101 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 67,379 shares worth about $8.56 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutions controlling 86.9% of the company. Several large investors, including Dimensional Fund Advisors and Geode Capital Management, also increased their positions.
• Cullen/Frost Bankers recently raised its quarterly dividend to $1.03 per share and beat earnings expectations last quarter, though analysts currently rate the stock Hold on average with a consensus price target of $151.92.

Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR - Free Report) by 85.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 67,379 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 31,101 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.11% of Cullen/Frost Bankers worth $8,564,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,293,964 shares of the bank's stock worth $163,862,000 after acquiring an additional 106,558 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,224,265 shares of the bank's stock valued at $155,059,000 after acquiring an additional 10,246 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 8.5% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,129,673 shares of the bank's stock valued at $143,209,000 after purchasing an additional 88,080 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 2.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 965,821 shares of the bank's stock valued at $122,437,000 after purchasing an additional 21,793 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 744,009 shares of the bank's stock worth $94,214,000 after purchasing an additional 38,908 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Carol Jean Severyn sold 837 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.29, for a total transaction of $124,118.73. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,712 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,885,062.48. This trade represents a 6.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CFR shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Stephens raised shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $164.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Raymond James Financial restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cullen/Frost Bankers currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $151.92.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Down 2.2%

CFR stock opened at $153.78 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $143.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $139.96. The company has a market capitalization of $9.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.97, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.54. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a twelve month low of $119.00 and a twelve month high of $157.51.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The bank reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.16. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a net margin of 22.86% and a return on equity of 15.58%. The firm had revenue of $574.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $587.28 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.30 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 10.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a $1.03 dividend. This is a boost from Cullen/Frost Bankers's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Cullen/Frost Bankers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.12%.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Company 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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