Norges Bank Invests $69.59 Million in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 518,370 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $69,591,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 0.81% of Cullen/Frost Bankers as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 45.8% in the fourth 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. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 239.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 339 shares of the bank's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 134.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 541 shares of the bank's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $106,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on CFR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $144.00 price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Compass Point lifted their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $122.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays initiated coverage on Cullen/Frost Bankers in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $132.00 to $120.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cullen/Frost Bankers presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $132.57.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Paul Bracher sold 11,500 shares of the firm's 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 in the company, valued at $14,355,819.70. This trade represents a 10.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE CFR traded down $0.70 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $105.46. 790,059 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 463,069. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.89, a PEG ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $131.17. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.09 and a twelve month high of $147.64.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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, equities analysts expect that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Cullen/Frost Bankers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.84%.

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.