WCM Investment Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

WCM Investment Management LLC raised its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) by 145.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 49,356 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,277 shares during the quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers were worth $6,647,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 169.9% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 224 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Asset Dedication LLC increased its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 63.3% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 271 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 45.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 245 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the third quarter valued at about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CFR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stephens raised their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $125.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price 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. DA Davidson downgraded shares of 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. 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.31.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CFR opened at $140.68 on Monday. 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 company has a market capitalization 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 business has a 50 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s payout ratio is currently 42.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Paul Bracher sold 11,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.45, for a total value of $1,603,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 102,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,355,819.70. This represents a 10.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phillip D. Green sold 14,358 shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.96, for a total value of $1,980,829.68. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.