Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Buys 279,762 Shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR - Free Report) by 13,334.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 281,860 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 279,762 shares during the quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC owned approximately 0.44% of Cullen/Frost Bankers worth $37,840,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CFR. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,414,061 shares of the bank's stock worth $381,897,000 after purchasing an additional 244,445 shares during the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. raised its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 10.2% during the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,209,122 shares of the bank's stock worth $135,252,000 after buying an additional 111,719 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 6.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,097,697 shares of the bank's stock valued at $122,820,000 after buying an additional 66,223 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,052,290 shares of the bank's stock valued at $141,270,000 after acquiring an additional 94,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 806,209 shares of the bank's stock worth $90,185,000 after acquiring an additional 25,909 shares during the period. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $139.45, for a total value of $1,603,675.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 102,946 shares in the company, valued at $14,355,819.70. The trade was a 10.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phillip D. Green sold 14,358 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.96, for a total value of $1,980,829.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 94,423 shares in the company, valued at $13,026,597.08. This represents a 13.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Up 2.7 %

CFR stock traded up $3.70 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $142.24. 394,572 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 451,614. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $137.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.13. The stock has a market cap of $9.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.04, a P/E/G ratio of 6.52 and a beta of 0.99. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.09 and a fifty-two week high of $147.64.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.19. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 16.04% and a net margin of 18.81%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Cullen/Frost Bankers's payout ratio is 42.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CFR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $136.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $144.00 price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a report on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson downgraded shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $138.00 to $143.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup boosted 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. Finally, Compass Point raised their price target 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $132.54.

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.