South Dakota Investment Council Sells 14,666 Shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

South Dakota Investment Council decreased its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR - Free Report) by 23.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,029 shares of the bank's stock after selling 14,666 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council owned 0.08% of Cullen/Frost Bankers worth $6,582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 169.9% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 224 shares of the bank's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the third quarter worth $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in 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 last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the third quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 239.0% during the fourth 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 currently owned by institutional investors.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE CFR traded down $1.08 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $135.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 466,607 shares, compared to its average volume of 451,765. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $138.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $128.36. The stock has a market cap of $8.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.28, a P/E/G ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.09 and a 12 month high of $147.64.

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

Cullen/Frost Bankers Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. Cullen/Frost Bankers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on CFR. DA Davidson lowered Cullen/Frost Bankers from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $138.00 to $143.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Compass Point increased their price target 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. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $125.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $144.00 price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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 research report on Monday, February 3rd. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $132.54.

Insider Transactions at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In other news, insider Paul Bracher sold 11,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.45, for a total value of $1,603,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 102,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,355,819.70. This represents a 10.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.89% of the company's stock.

Cullen/Frost Bankers 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.