Madison Investment Advisors LLC Invests $46.22 Million in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 344,307 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $46,223,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC owned about 0.54% of Cullen/Frost Bankers at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Covestor Ltd boosted 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 worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake 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 worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 239.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 339 shares of the bank's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Paul Bracher sold 11,500 shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.89% of the company's stock.

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Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of CFR traded up $1.80 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $124.42. 781,707 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 427,435. The firm has a market cap of $7.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.03, a P/E/G ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $137.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.17. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.09 and a 12-month 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.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 15.95%. Sell-side analysts expect that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. Cullen/Frost Bankers's dividend payout ratio is currently 42.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson cut shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $138.00 to $143.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Compass Point increased their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $122.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI increased their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $132.77.

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.