Insider Selling: Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) CAO Sells $85,290.48 in Stock

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) CAO Matthew Bradley Henson sold 534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total transaction of $85,290.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 317 shares in the company, valued at $50,631.24. This represents a 62.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CFR opened at $156.76 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $157.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $149.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a one year low of $119.14 and a one year high of $170.80. The firm has a market cap of $9.75 billion, a PE ratio of 14.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.52.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The bank reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.04. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 16.27% and a net margin of 23.37%. The firm had revenue of $603.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $610.19 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 11.00 EPS for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 30th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 30th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s payout ratio is 38.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CFR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $200.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $175.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cullen/Frost Bankers presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.55.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cullen/Frost Bankers

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EFG International AG acquired a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,906,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 327.0% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 34,023 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,257,000 after acquiring an additional 26,055 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 22.6% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,777,658 shares of the bank’s stock worth $429,204,000 after acquiring an additional 511,784 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,218,249 shares of the bank’s stock worth $497,292,000 after acquiring an additional 118,313 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 2nd quarter worth about $7,345,000. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Company Profile

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc is a financial holding company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. Its principal subsidiary, Frost Bank, provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and institutions throughout Texas.

Frost Bank offers personal and commercial deposit accounts, loans, mortgages, treasury management, payments and other business banking services. The company also provides wealth management, trust and investment services, brokerage services and insurance solutions through its related businesses.

Frost traces its history to 1868, when Thomas Claiborne Frost founded the bank in San Antonio.