Vest Financial LLC Buys Shares of 27,093 Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

Vest Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 27,093 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $3,392,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 13,083 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,756,000 after buying an additional 1,003 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 4th quarter worth $389,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,375,303 shares of the bank's stock worth $855,884,000 after acquiring an additional 66,243 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,339 shares of the bank's stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 42.6% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 4,090 shares of the bank's stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.90% of the company's stock.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Up 0.3%

CFR traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $129.08. The company had a trading volume of 278,690 shares, compared to its average volume of 464,813. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $120.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $130.09. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.09 and a 52 week high of $147.64. The company has a market capitalization of $8.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.55, a PEG ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The bank reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $560.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $540.57 million. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 15.95% and a net margin of 20.44%. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.15 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Cullen/Frost Bankers's payout ratio is currently 43.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped 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 research note on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set an "underperform" rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $131.93.

Insider Transactions at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In other Cullen/Frost Bankers news, CAO Matthew Bradley Henson bought 1,870 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were bought 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 of the company's stock, valued at $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 is available at this link. Company insiders own 2.89% of the company's stock.

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.