Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) Shares Purchased by Ceredex Value Advisors LLC

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR - Free Report) by 11.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 146,848 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 14,798 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned 0.23% of Cullen/Frost Bankers worth $15,932,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Macquarie Group Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 80.7% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 309 shares of the bank's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Compass Point downgraded shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $126.00 target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $119.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $117.92.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Performance

Shares of CFR stock traded up $1.87 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $112.28. 225,209 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 415,037. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 12 month low of $82.25 and a 12 month high of $120.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $107.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $102.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.21 billion, a PE ratio of 12.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.04.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.17. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a net margin of 22.60% and a return on equity of 19.66%. The firm had revenue of $523.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $498.09 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.44 EPS for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. Cullen/Frost Bankers's payout ratio is 40.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Bobby Berman sold 1,312 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.49, for a total value of $138,402.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,815 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,934,204.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Paul Bracher sold 9,820 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.40, for a total value of $1,074,308.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 96,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,543,972. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Bobby Berman sold 1,312 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.49, for a total transaction of $138,402.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,815 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,934,204.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by 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.