New England Research & Management Inc. Cuts Stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

New England Research & Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR - Free Report) by 79.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,775 shares of the bank's stock after selling 6,750 shares during the quarter. New England Research & Management Inc.'s holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers were worth $238,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CFR. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 169.9% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 224 shares of the bank's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 63.3% in the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 271 shares of the bank's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 45.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 245 shares of the bank's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on CFR. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $123.00 to $115.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens raised 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. Compass Point boosted 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. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $127.92.

Insider Activity

In other Cullen/Frost Bankers news, CEO Phillip D. Green sold 14,358 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Howard L. Kasanoff sold 4,000 shares of the business'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 value of $553,360.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,888 shares in the company, valued at $399,525.92. This trade represents a 58.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,864 shares of company stock valued at $2,977,033. 2.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Trading Up 2.5 %

NYSE CFR traded up $3.45 during trading on Thursday, hitting $142.25. 577,574 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 450,859. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $137.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.43. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.09 and a 12-month high of $147.64. The firm has a market cap of $9.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.76, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) last issued 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 15.82% and a net margin of 18.81%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current year.

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.