South Dakota Investment Council Has $6.58 Million Holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

South Dakota Investment Council reduced its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) by 23.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 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 approximately 0.08% of Cullen/Frost Bankers worth $6,582,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,164 shares of the bank’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 45.8% in 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. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 2,187 shares of the bank’s stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. raised its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 4,028 shares of the bank’s stock worth $541,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 17,800 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,390,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Paul Bracher sold 11,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 102,946 shares in the company, valued at $14,355,819.70. This represents a 10.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.89% of the company’s stock.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CFR opened at $140.22 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.01 billion, a PE ratio of 15.81, a PEG ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 0.99. 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 1-year low of $94.09 and a 1-year high of $147.64. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $138.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.75.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 15.95%. Research analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s payout ratio is presently 42.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CFR shares. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $138.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Compass Point upped their target price 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 upped their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $136.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, November 4th. 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 MarketBeat.com, Cullen/Frost Bankers presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.54.

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.