Handelsbanken Fonder AB Cuts Stock Holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lowered its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,616 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 700 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers were worth $2,096,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 169.9% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 224 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 45.8% during the 4th 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. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 239.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 339 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. 86.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Price Performance

Shares of CFR opened at $136.56 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $8.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.40, a PEG ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 0.99. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.09 and a fifty-two week high of $147.64. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $138.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $128.36.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $2.36 EPS 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $136.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $144.00 target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stephens upped their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $125.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Maxim Group boosted their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $138.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.54.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Paul Bracher sold 11,500 shares of the company’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,355,819.70. This represents a 10.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 2.89% of the company’s stock.

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.