Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Sells 49,848 Shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. cut its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR - Free Report) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 399,953 shares of the bank's stock after selling 49,848 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.62% of Cullen/Frost Bankers worth $53,694,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Cullen/Frost Bankers Trading Up 0.7%

CFR traded up $0.87 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $131.32. 305,396 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 465,819. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.81, a PEG ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 0.67. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a one year low of $94.09 and a one year high of $147.64. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $119.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The bank reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.13. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 15.95%. The business had revenue of $560.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $540.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.15 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. This is a boost from Cullen/Frost Bankers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Cullen/Frost Bankers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on CFR. DA Davidson downgraded shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $138.00 to $143.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI raised shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from an "underperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $132.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stephens increased their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $132.14.

Insider Activity

In other Cullen/Frost Bankers news, CAO Matthew Bradley Henson acquired 1,870 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.93 per share, for a total transaction of $31,659.10. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Company 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.