Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $90.19 Million Stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 806,209 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 25,909 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 1.26% of Cullen/Frost Bankers worth $90,185,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp purchased a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in the 3rd quarter worth about $107,166,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the third quarter valued at $54,012,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. acquired a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,813,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 117.4% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 568,730 shares of the bank's stock worth $63,618,000 after buying an additional 307,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 234.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 436,393 shares of the bank's stock worth $48,814,000 after buying an additional 305,921 shares during the period. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Howard L. Kasanoff sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.34, for a total transaction of $553,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at $399,525.92. This trade represents a 58.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Bobby Berman sold 3,506 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.31, for a total transaction of $442,842.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,661 shares in the company, valued at $3,367,550.91. The trade was a 11.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,864 shares of company stock valued at $2,977,033 over the last 90 days. 2.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CFR traded up $1.59 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $132.87. 977,189 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 446,964. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $134.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $117.03. The company has a market cap of $8.52 billion, a PE ratio of 16.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.09 and a 1-year high of $147.64.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The bank reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.07. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 15.82% and a net margin of 18.81%. The company had revenue of $518.04 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $517.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.38 EPS. Cullen/Frost Bankers's revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Cullen/Frost Bankers's payout ratio is 47.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CFR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $121.00 to $117.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup upped their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Maxim Group raised 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $118.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $123.00 to $115.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Four 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, Cullen/Frost Bankers presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $127.07.

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.