Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) Shares Acquired by Champlain Investment Partners LLC

Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) by 7.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,414,061 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 244,445 shares during the quarter. Cullen/Frost Bankers comprises approximately 2.3% of Champlain Investment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Champlain Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Cullen/Frost Bankers worth $381,897,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp acquired a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 3rd quarter valued at $107,166,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the third quarter worth about $54,012,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in the second quarter worth about $37,813,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 7,109.7% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 250,896 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 247,416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 300.6% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 223,655 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,018,000 after buying an additional 167,828 shares during the period. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In other news, EVP Bobby Berman sold 3,506 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.31, for a total transaction of $442,842.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,367,550.91. The trade was a 11.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phillip D. Green sold 14,358 shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.96, for a total transaction of $1,980,829.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 94,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,026,597.08. This represents a 13.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,864 shares of company stock valued at $2,977,033 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.89% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $121.00 to $117.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup upped 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 note on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $123.00 to $115.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wedbush cut their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $127.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.86.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE:CFR opened at $142.34 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.13 billion, a PE ratio of 17.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.98. The business’s 50 day moving average is $123.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.09 and a 52 week high of $144.89.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The bank reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $518.04 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $517.25 million. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 15.82% and a net margin of 18.81%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.38 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.71 EPS for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.15%.

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.