Bessemer Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. $CFR

Bessemer Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) by 32.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 126,245 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 60,493 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers were worth $17,306,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 61.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 605,697 shares of the bank’s stock worth $75,833,000 after purchasing an additional 230,993 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 166,900 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $20,896,000 after purchasing an additional 15,063 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 40.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 366 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 12.2% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 126,040 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $16,201,000 after purchasing an additional 13,718 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 82.9% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the bank’s stock worth $151,000 after buying an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In other news, EVP Carol Jean Severyn sold 837 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.29, for a total transaction of $124,118.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,885,062.48. This trade represents a 6.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Price Performance

Cullen/Frost Bankers stock opened at $161.48 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.14 billion, a PE ratio of 15.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.54. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 52 week low of $119.00 and a 52 week high of $163.80. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $146.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $141.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The bank reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $574.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $587.28 million. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a net margin of 22.86% and a return on equity of 15.58%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.30 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 10.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a $1.03 dividend. This is a boost from Cullen/Frost Bankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CFR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $143.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Citigroup upped their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $131.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Cullen/Frost Bankers to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $152.42.

About Cullen/Frost Bankers

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc is the holding company for Frost Bank, a Texas-chartered financial institution whose origins date back to 1868 in San Antonio. As one of the oldest banking organizations in the state, it offers a broad range of services to individuals, small and large businesses, and institutional clients. Core banking activities include commercial lending, deposit services, cash management and trade finance, while consumer products cover residential mortgages, personal lines of credit and home equity loans.

Beyond traditional banking, the company provides comprehensive treasury and equipment leasing solutions tailored to support working capital and capital expenditure requirements.