Verition Fund Management LLC Acquires 45,254 Shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. $CFR

Key Points

• Verition Fund Management boosted its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 52.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 45,254 additional shares to bring its total holdings to 130,944 shares worth about $16.6 million.
• Cullen/Frost Bankers reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $2.65 per share, topping analyst estimates, though revenue came in slightly below expectations.
• The bank raised its quarterly dividend to $1.03 per share from $1.00, bringing the annualized payout to $4.12 and yielding about 2.8%.

Verition Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR - Free Report) by 52.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 130,944 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 45,254 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC owned 0.21% of Cullen/Frost Bankers worth $16,581,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 248 shares of the bank's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 252.1% during 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. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Matrix Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 40.4% during the fourth quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 320 shares of the bank's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CFR shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $143.00 to $133.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. TD Cowen raised Cullen/Frost Bankers to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $143.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $125.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $148.73.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Trading Down 2.0%

NYSE CFR opened at $145.02 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.12, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $140.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.95. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 12 month low of $119.00 and a 12 month high of $148.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The bank reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $574.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $587.29 million. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 15.58% and a net margin of 22.86%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.30 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 10.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.8%. Cullen/Frost Bankers's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.12%.

Insider Transactions at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In other Cullen/Frost Bankers news, EVP Carol Jean Severyn sold 837 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.29, for a total value of $124,118.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,712 shares in the company, valued at $1,885,062.48. This represents a 6.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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