Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 66,223 Shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,097,697 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 66,223 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers were worth $122,820,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 44.8% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,720 shares of the bank’s stock worth $480,000 after acquiring an additional 1,460 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,333 shares of the bank’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $217,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the second quarter valued at approximately $158,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 998.4% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,384 shares of the bank’s stock worth $141,000 after buying an additional 1,258 shares during the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Performance

CFR stock opened at $136.68 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.77 billion, a PE ratio of 16.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.99. 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 50-day moving average price of $133.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $116.11. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.09 and a 1-year high of $147.64.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The bank reported $2.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $518.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $517.25 million. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 15.82% and a net margin of 18.81%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s payout ratio is presently 47.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wedbush dropped their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Stephens lifted their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $125.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $121.00 to $117.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup raised their price objective 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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, December 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $127.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Bobby Berman sold 3,506 shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.31, for a total value of $442,842.86. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,367,550.91. This trade represents a 11.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Howard L. Kasanoff sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was 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 approximately $399,525.92. The trade was a 58.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,864 shares of company stock valued at $2,977,033 over the last ninety days. 2.89% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.