Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. Buys 111,719 Shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,209,122 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 111,719 shares during the period. Cullen/Frost Bankers accounts for 1.4% of Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. owned 1.89% of Cullen/Frost Bankers worth $135,252,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CFR. Boston Trust Walden Corp bought a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in the 3rd quarter worth $107,166,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 3rd quarter valued at about $54,012,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. acquired a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,813,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 7,109.7% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 250,896 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 247,416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 300.6% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 223,655 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,018,000 after buying an additional 167,828 shares in the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CFR. Citigroup upped their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $127.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $121.00 to $117.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Wedbush dropped their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $123.00 to $115.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cullen/Frost Bankers has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.86.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Price Performance

Shares of CFR opened at $142.34 on Friday. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.09 and a twelve month high of $144.89. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $123.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.13 billion, a PE ratio of 17.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The bank reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $518.04 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $517.25 million. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 15.82% and a net margin of 18.81%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.38 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cullen/Frost Bankers news, CEO Phillip D. Green sold 14,358 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.96, for a total value of $1,980,829.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 94,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,026,597.08. This trade represents a 13.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bobby Berman sold 3,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.31, for a total transaction of $442,842.86. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,661 shares in the company, valued at $3,367,550.91. This represents a 11.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,864 shares of company stock worth $2,977,033 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.89% of the company’s stock.

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.