Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) Shares Sold by Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) by 11.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 399,953 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 49,848 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.’s holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers were worth $53,694,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 45.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 245 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 239.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 339 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 35.3% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the bank’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the fourth quarter worth about $106,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Performance

Shares of CFR opened at $124.80 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $118.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. 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 capitalization of $8.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07, a PEG ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 0.67.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The bank reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $560.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $540.57 million. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 15.95% and a net margin of 20.44%. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.15 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. This is an increase from Cullen/Frost Bankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.91%.

Insider Activity at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In other Cullen/Frost Bankers news, CAO Matthew Bradley Henson acquired 1,870 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $16.93 per share, for a total transaction of $31,659.10. Following the acquisition, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $93,876.85. This trade represents a 50.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 2.89% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $147.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on 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. Stephens upped their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI upgraded Cullen/Frost Bankers from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $132.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson cut Cullen/Frost Bankers from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $138.00 to $143.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.14.

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.