Sovran Advisors LLC Makes New $583,000 Investment in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 4,200 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $583,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 30.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 18,689 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,091,000 after purchasing an additional 4,348 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 45.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 19,273 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,156,000 after purchasing an additional 5,981 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 234.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 436,393 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,814,000 after buying an additional 305,921 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 10.0% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 119,447 shares of the bank’s stock worth $13,361,000 after buying an additional 10,884 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp acquired a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the third quarter valued at $784,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In other news, insider Paul Bracher sold 11,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.45, for a total value of $1,603,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 102,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,355,819.70. This represents a 10.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Phillip D. Green sold 14,358 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.96, for a total value of $1,980,829.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 94,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,026,597.08. The trade was a 13.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on CFR shares. Stephens increased their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $125.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Compass Point raised their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $122.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. DA Davidson downgraded Cullen/Frost Bankers from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $138.00 to $143.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $144.00 price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cullen/Frost Bankers currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.54.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Performance

CFR opened at $142.24 on Wednesday. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.09 and a 1-year high of $147.64. The company has a market cap of $9.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.04, a PEG ratio of 6.52 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $137.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $126.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.19. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a net margin of 18.81% and a return on equity of 16.04%. On average, analysts expect that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.84%.

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.