Madison Investment Advisors LLC Purchases New Shares in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 344,307 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $46,223,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 30.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 18,689 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,091,000 after acquiring an additional 4,348 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 45.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 19,273 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,156,000 after acquiring an additional 5,981 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 234.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 436,393 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,814,000 after acquiring an additional 305,921 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp acquired a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 3rd quarter worth $784,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 4th quarter worth $389,000. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Up 1.2 %

Cullen/Frost Bankers stock opened at $123.29 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $7.92 billion, a PE ratio of 13.90, a P/E/G ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $137.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $129.95. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.09 and a twelve month high of $147.64.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.19. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 15.95%. On average, research analysts predict that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on CFR. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $144.00 price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $136.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target 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. DA Davidson downgraded shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $138.00 to $143.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. 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 research 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cullen/Frost Bankers presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Paul Bracher sold 11,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Cullen/Frost Bankers

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.