Choreo LLC Buys 4,626 Shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

Choreo LLC lifted its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) by 192.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,026 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,626 shares during the quarter. Choreo LLC’s holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers were worth $946,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp bought a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $107,166,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $54,012,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 117.4% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 568,730 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $63,618,000 after purchasing an additional 307,129 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 234.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 436,393 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,814,000 after purchasing an additional 305,921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 7.7% during the third quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,414,061 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $381,897,000 after purchasing an additional 244,445 shares in the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In related news, CEO Phillip D. Green sold 14,358 shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.96, for a total value of $1,980,829.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 94,423 shares in the company, valued at $13,026,597.08. The trade was a 13.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Paul Bracher sold 11,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $14,355,819.70. The trade was a 10.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $144.00 target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stephens boosted their price objective 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 upped their price objective for the company from $138.00 to $143.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Maxim Group increased their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $138.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight 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 a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $130.31.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:CFR opened at $140.68 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $9.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.52 and a beta of 0.99. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.09 and a twelve month high of $147.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $137.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.83.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts anticipate that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors 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 2.70%. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s payout ratio is 42.84%.

Cullen/Frost Bankers 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.