Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) Position Increased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR - Free Report) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 822,432 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 16,223 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 1.28% of Cullen/Frost Bankers worth $110,418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 169.9% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 224 shares of the bank's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the third quarter worth $44,000. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on CFR. Maxim Group boosted their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $138.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Compass Point boosted their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $122.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price 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. DA Davidson downgraded Cullen/Frost Bankers from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $138.00 to $143.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $125.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cullen/Frost Bankers currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $132.54.

Insider Transactions at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In other news, insider Paul Bracher sold 11,500 shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 102,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,355,819.70. This trade represents 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 this link. Company insiders own 2.89% of the company's stock.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Performance

CFR traded down $2.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $140.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 459,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 454,326. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.09 and a fifty-two week high of $147.64. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $138.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.01 billion, a PE ratio of 15.81, a PEG ratio of 6.58 and a beta of 0.99.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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, sell-side analysts expect that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Cullen/Frost Bankers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.