Venturi Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) by 12.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,753 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 761 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers were worth $907,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 239.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 339 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the third quarter worth 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 a number of recent research reports. Compass Point upped their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $122.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $144.00 target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Maxim Group upped their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $138.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Stephens boosted their price target 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. Finally, DA Davidson downgraded Cullen/Frost Bankers from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $138.00 to $143.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.54.

Insider Activity at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In related news, insider Paul Bracher sold 11,500 shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,355,819.70. The trade was a 10.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:CFR opened at $144.69 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $137.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.87. The company has a market capitalization of $9.30 billion, a PE ratio of 16.31, a P/E/G ratio of 6.58 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.09 and a 52-week high of $147.64.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.78 EPS for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.