Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) Shares Sold by Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.

Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. trimmed its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) by 29.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 848,892 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 360,230 shares during the quarter. Cullen/Frost Bankers comprises about 1.4% of Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.’s holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers were worth $113,964,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp acquired a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in the 3rd quarter valued at about $107,166,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in the third quarter valued at $54,012,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 117.4% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 568,730 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $63,618,000 after buying an additional 307,129 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 234.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 436,393 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $48,814,000 after buying an additional 305,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 7.7% in the third quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,414,061 shares of the bank’s stock worth $381,897,000 after acquiring an additional 244,445 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Phillip D. Green sold 14,358 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.96, for a total value of $1,980,829.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 94,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,026,597.08. This trade represents a 13.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 value of $553,360.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $399,525.92. The trade was a 58.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,864 shares of company stock worth $2,977,033. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CFR opened at $140.26 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $137.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $124.33. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.09 and a 1-year high of $147.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The bank reported $2.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $518.04 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $517.25 million. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 15.82% and a net margin of 18.81%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.38 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $118.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stephens upped their target price 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. Compass Point boosted their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $122.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective 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. Finally, Maxim Group upped their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $138.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $127.07.

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.