Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Lowers Position in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR - Free Report) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 447,367 shares of the bank's stock after selling 50,551 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned about 0.70% of Cullen/Frost Bankers worth $60,059,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 45.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 245 shares of the bank's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 239.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 339 shares of the bank's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position 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 worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 4th quarter worth $106,000. Finally, Americana Partners LLC bought a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 4th quarter worth $202,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research report on Wednesday. They set an "underperform" rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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. Evercore ISI upgraded Cullen/Frost Bankers from an "underperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $132.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. 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. Finally, DA Davidson lowered Cullen/Frost Bankers from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $138.00 to $143.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $131.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Matthew Bradley Henson acquired 1,870 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the purchase, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,545 shares in the company, valued at $93,876.85. This trade represents a 50.88% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:CFR traded down $0.49 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $126.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 275,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 465,011. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.27, a PEG ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $119.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $131.15. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.09 and a fifty-two week high of $147.64.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The bank reported $2.30 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $540.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.15 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is an increase from Cullen/Frost Bankers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Cullen/Frost Bankers's dividend payout ratio is 43.91%.

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.