M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. Invests $848,000 in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 6,319 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $848,000. Cullen/Frost Bankers comprises approximately 0.9% of M.E. Allison & CO. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Jackson Square Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 47.9% in the fourth quarter. Jackson Square Capital LLC now owns 5,647 shares of the bank’s stock worth $758,000 after acquiring an additional 1,830 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the fourth quarter valued at $241,000. Everpar Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 2,702 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in the fourth quarter valued at about $300,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,054 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $678,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cullen/Frost Bankers news, EVP Howard L. Kasanoff sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.34, for a total transaction of $553,360.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $399,525.92. This represents a 58.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Bobby Berman sold 3,506 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.31, for a total transaction of $442,842.86. Following 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 a total of 21,864 shares of company stock valued at $2,977,033 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CFR opened at $143.33 on Monday. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.09 and a 12 month high of $147.64. The stock has a market cap of $9.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.78, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $137.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The bank reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.07. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 15.82% and a net margin of 18.81%. The company had revenue of $518.04 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $517.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CFR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $121.00 to $117.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $118.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $125.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Maxim Group lifted their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $138.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Compass Point lifted their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $122.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Four research 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 MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $127.07.

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.