Handelsbanken Fonder AB Lowers Position in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB reduced its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 15,616 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 700 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers were worth $2,096,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the third quarter worth $233,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 116.6% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 444 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 108.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,867 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 2,534 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 7.2% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 7,459 shares of the bank’s stock worth $834,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 2.3% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 35,590 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,981,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Performance

Cullen/Frost Bankers stock opened at $136.56 on Wednesday. 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 12 month low of $94.09 and a 12 month high of $147.64. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $138.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $128.36. The company has a market cap of $8.77 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 0.99.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 15.95% and a net margin of 20.44%. Research analysts expect that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens boosted their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $125.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. DA Davidson downgraded Cullen/Frost Bankers from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $138.00 to $143.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $144.00 price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In other Cullen/Frost Bankers news, insider Paul Bracher sold 11,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.45, for a total transaction of $1,603,675.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 102,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,355,819.70. This trade represents a 10.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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.