Fifth Third Bancorp Buys 21,897 Shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. $CFR

Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) by 147.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,710 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,897 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp owned approximately 0.06% of Cullen/Frost Bankers worth $5,032,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the fourth quarter valued at about $92,904,000. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 2,024.4% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 373,977 shares of the bank’s stock worth $47,409,000 after buying an additional 356,373 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 16,676.0% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 353,470 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,760,000 after acquiring an additional 351,363 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the third quarter worth approximately $29,687,000. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 197.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 349,601 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,319,000 after acquiring an additional 232,077 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In other news, EVP Carol Jean Severyn sold 837 shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.29, for a total value of $124,118.73. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,885,062.48. The trade was a 6.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers stock opened at $161.48 on Friday. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 1 year low of $119.00 and a 1 year high of $163.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market cap of $10.14 billion, a PE ratio of 15.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $146.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.34.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The bank reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.16. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 15.58% and a net margin of 22.86%.The business had revenue of $574.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $587.28 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.30 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 10.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $154.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen upgraded Cullen/Frost Bankers to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Barclays raised their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $160.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Two equities 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cullen/Frost Bankers presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.