Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR - Free Report) by 205.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,844 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 9,977 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers were worth $1,993,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,375,303 shares of the bank's stock valued at $855,884,000 after acquiring an additional 66,243 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,026,585 shares of the bank's stock valued at $137,823,000 after buying an additional 6,159 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 973,576 shares of the bank's stock valued at $130,703,000 after buying an additional 245,458 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 834,015 shares of the bank's stock worth $111,967,000 after acquiring an additional 9,050 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 822,432 shares of the bank's stock worth $110,418,000 after acquiring an additional 16,223 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI upgraded Cullen/Frost Bankers from an "underperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $132.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $132.00 to $120.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set an "underperform" rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Stephens raised 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 research note on Friday, May 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $131.93.

Insider Transactions at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In other Cullen/Frost Bankers news, CAO Matthew Bradley Henson acquired 1,870 shares of the company's 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 purchase, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,545 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $93,876.85. This represents a 50.88% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.89% of the company's stock.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Price Performance

NYSE CFR traded down $0.53 on Monday, reaching $128.69. The company had a trading volume of 307,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 465,772. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.27 billion, a PE ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 0.68. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.09 and a 12 month high of $147.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $120.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $130.19.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The bank reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $560.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $2.15 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This is an increase from Cullen/Frost Bankers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. Cullen/Frost Bankers's payout ratio is presently 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.