Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. Has $16.69 Million Stock Position in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 153,877 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 3,100 shares during the quarter. Cullen/Frost Bankers comprises approximately 0.7% of Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers were worth $16,694,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Macquarie Group Ltd. bought a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the first quarter worth $25,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the third quarter worth $27,000. Arvest Investments Inc. bought a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CFR has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $126.00 target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a report on Friday, January 26th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $119.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Compass Point lowered shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.92.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Price Performance

Shares of CFR traded down $1.50 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $108.01. The stock had a trading volume of 316,990 shares, compared to its average volume of 317,573. The company’s fifty day moving average is $107.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $102.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.63. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 52 week low of $82.25 and a 52 week high of $120.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.03.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.17. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a net margin of 22.60% and a return on equity of 19.66%. The business had revenue of $523.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $498.09 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.48 EPS for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s payout ratio is 40.44%.

Insider Transactions at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In related news, EVP Bobby Berman sold 1,312 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.49, for a total transaction of $138,402.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,815 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,934,204.35. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Bobby Berman sold 1,312 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.49, for a total transaction of $138,402.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,815 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,934,204.35. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Paul Bracher sold 9,820 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.40, for a total transaction of $1,074,308.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 96,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,543,972. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.