Captrust Financial Advisors Boosts Stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) by 3.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,522 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 547 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers were worth $1,960,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp bought a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the third quarter worth about $107,166,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the third quarter worth about $54,012,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the second quarter worth about $37,813,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 117.4% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 568,730 shares of the bank’s stock worth $63,618,000 after purchasing an additional 307,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 7,109.7% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 250,896 shares of the bank’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 247,416 shares during the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Price Performance

NYSE CFR opened at $138.30 on Friday. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.09 and a 12 month high of $147.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.87 billion, a PE ratio of 17.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.42.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The bank reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.07. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a net margin of 18.81% and a return on equity of 15.82%. The business had revenue of $518.04 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $517.25 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $125.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $118.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $123.00 to $115.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wedbush cut their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cullen/Frost Bankers currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.43.

Insider Activity at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In related news, EVP Howard L. Kasanoff sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.34, for a total transaction of $553,360.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,888 shares in the company, valued at $399,525.92. This trade represents a 58.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phillip D. Green sold 14,358 shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.96, for a total transaction of $1,980,829.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 94,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,026,597.08. This trade represents a 13.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,864 shares of company stock worth $2,977,033 over the last quarter. 2.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.