Legal & General Group Plc Sells 7,234 Shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR - Free Report) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 95,522 shares of the bank's stock after selling 7,234 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.15% of Cullen/Frost Bankers worth $12,824,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CFR. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in the third quarter valued at $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 35.3% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the bank's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the 4th quarter worth about $106,000. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cullen/Frost Bankers news, insider Paul Bracher sold 11,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.45, for a total transaction of $1,603,675.00. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Price Performance

NYSE:CFR traded down $1.60 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $110.00. The stock had a trading volume of 29,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 467,305. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.41, a P/E/G ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 0.82. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a one year low of $94.09 and a one year high of $147.64. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $131.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $2.36 earnings per share (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%. Research analysts forecast that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Cullen/Frost Bankers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CFR shares. Barclays began coverage on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $132.00 to $120.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $144.00 price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $136.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $132.57.

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.