Renaissance Technologies LLC Acquires 8,000 Shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) by 8.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 97,900 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,000 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.15% of Cullen/Frost Bankers worth $9,950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 14.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 953,098 shares of the bank’s stock worth $96,856,000 after acquiring an additional 120,333 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,780,000. Qsemble Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 55.0% during the 2nd quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 3,141 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 11.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 68,296 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,941,000 after buying an additional 7,236 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the second quarter valued at about $212,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In related news, EVP Candace K. Wolfshohl sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.65, for a total transaction of $598,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 18,753 shares in the company, valued at $2,243,796.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Cullen/Frost Bankers news, EVP Candace K. Wolfshohl sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.65, for a total value of $598,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 18,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,243,796.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Howard L. Kasanoff sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.20, for a total value of $357,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,598 shares in the company, valued at $190,481.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.89% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CFR has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $117.00 to $108.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $127.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Maxim Group increased their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $132.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $119.71.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Performance

CFR stock opened at $112.54 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $110.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 12-month low of $82.25 and a 12-month high of $123.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.23 billion, a PE ratio of 13.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.00.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.14. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 19.51%. The firm had revenue of $528.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $506.83 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This is an increase from Cullen/Frost Bankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.92%.

Cullen/Frost Bankers 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.