Freestone Grove Partners LP Buys New Position in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 18,595 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $2,496,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 17,651 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,370,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,164 shares of the bank's stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 45.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 245 shares of the bank's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,086 shares of the bank's stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 2,187 shares of the bank's stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Trading Up 0.1 %

Cullen/Frost Bankers stock traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $122.51. 252,366 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 492,125. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.09 and a 52-week high of $147.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.81, a P/E/G ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 0.67. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $119.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $131.05.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The bank reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.13. The business 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 EPS. On average, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This is a boost 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 3.27%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Cullen/Frost Bankers's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.71%.

Insider Transactions at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In other Cullen/Frost Bankers news, CAO Matthew Bradley Henson acquired 1,870 shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $16.93 per share, for a total transaction of $31,659.10. Following the acquisition, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,545 shares of the company's stock, valued at $93,876.85. This represents a 50.88 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have 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 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. DA Davidson cut shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $138.00 to $143.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $132.14.

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.