Commerce Bank Has $1.68 Million Stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

Commerce Bank boosted its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,536 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers were worth $1,683,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 17,651 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,370,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,164 shares of the bank’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 45.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 245 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,086 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 2,187 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on CFR. DA Davidson lowered Cullen/Frost Bankers from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $138.00 to $143.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $132.00 to $120.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $136.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cullen/Frost Bankers currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.57.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Paul Bracher sold 11,500 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 102,946 shares in the company, valued at $14,355,819.70. This trade represents a 10.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.89% of the company’s stock.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of CFR stock opened at $110.65 on Tuesday. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.09 and a twelve month high of $147.64. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $124.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.47, a P/E/G ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 0.82.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.19. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 15.95% and a net margin of 20.44%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.84%.

About Cullen/Frost Bankers

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.